Jersey Reports Confirm Continued Growth Of Financial Services Industry

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

13 June 2001

The Jersey Financial Services Commission has released details of both its Annual Report 2000 and the first quarter period of 2001 confirming that the Commission has met its main priorities over the last year including completing the regulatory regime for investment businesses and introducing a comparable regime for trust company businesses.

The year 2000 was also successful in terms of receiving favourable reviews by the Financial Action Task Force and the Financial Stability Forum, and Jersey received Qualified Intermediary Status from the Internal Revenue Service of the United States which has significantly reduced the administrative burden for Jersey intermediaries.

Constructive consultations with the Financial Services Commissions of Guernsey and the Isle of Man also took place which ensured consistency on anti-money laundering and financial crimes regulations across all three Crown Dependencies.

In a press release issued by the Commission, Chairman Colin Powell OBE, stated: 'Throughout 2000 the Commission has continued to maintain the Island's position as an international finance centre with the highest regulatory standards . . . ensuring that confidence in Jersey's role is retained among the international regulatory community, in the international marketplace, and in the Island community.'

Bank deposits and funds under management both continued to grow strongly during 2000 allowing them to reach new high levels by the end of the year 2000 of £117 billion and £90.8 billion respectively. However, the quarterly report for the period of 1 January to 31 March this year has revealed that these figures have now been surpassed with the news that the value of funds has risen to £94.8 billion while bank deposits are now valued at £122 billion.

The total funds under investment management (class B of the Investment Business Law) stands at £31 billion. This figure has dropped since the last report due to market movement but when compared to the same quarter last year, shows an increase of 29.17%. As at 31 March 2001, the total number of customers of investment managers was 21,075.

According to this latest report, total incorporations for the first quarter of 2001 were 680, showing a decrease of 29.8% over the same period last year due to the unusually large number of incorporations in March 2000.

In a statement released by the Commission, Richard Pratt, Director General, said: 'It is encouraging to see the steady growth in the value of funds continuing, despite uncertainty in world markets. It is also pleasing to see the continued rise in bank deposits. This must be encouraging for the industry generally and is a vote of confidence by investors in the industry and Jersey itself.'

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