Jersey Financial Services Commission Publishes Business Plan

by Jason Gorringe, for LawAndTax-News.com, London

28 January 2005

Jersey's Financial Services Commission (FSC) on Wednesday published its 2005 Business Plan, the first time that the Commission's key objectives have been released separately rather than included in its Annual Report.

In the Business Plan, the FSC sets out its aims for the year, which include ensuring that all entities authorised meet fit and proper criteria, are operating within accepted standards of good regulatory practice, and match international standards in respect of banking, securities, trust company business, insurance regulation, and anti-money laundering and terrorist financing defences.

Additionally, the Commission revealed that in 2005 it plans to identify and deter abuses and breaches of regulatory standards, and ensure that it is operating effectively and efficiently and is properly accountable to the Economic Development Committee.

Examining its achievements in 2004, the FSC drew particular attention to the introduction of the regime for expert funds and non-domiciled funds, observing that:

"The response to these has been encouraging with a total of 35 funds authorised by early December 2004, the vast majority Jersey-based."

It went on to add, with regard to efforts to combat money laundering in the jurisdiction that:

"Considerable progress was made during the year in drafting the successor to the Anti-money Laundering Guidance Notes for the Finance Sector. This will take the form of a Handbook for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing. The Money Laundering (Jersey) Order will be revised to accommodate the Handbook, a draft of which is due to go out for industry-wide consultation in early 2005."

Going on to outline detailed priorities for the coming year, the FSC revealed that:

"To a large extent, the Commission’s key tasks in 2005 will be to implement many of the initiatives that have been worked on in 2004. This is in keeping with the need to match resource needs to those that are available as well to avoid regulatory overload for the industry."

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