Jersey Retains Top Offshore Centre Status

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

16 March 2010

Jersey remains the highest rated offshore international finance centre in the latest competitive rankings published by the City of London and is now the only offshore jurisdiction in the top twenty.

Jersey is placed 18th in the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) overall, ahead of Guernsey, who have fallen out of the top twenty to 22nd, the Isle of Man (24th) and Cayman (28th).

The report, published on March 12 is produced every six months by the Z/Yen Group on behalf of the City of London and examines the major financial centres globally in terms of competitiveness, using a set of ratings and rankings for each jurisdiction based on responses to a global survey.

Although Jersey is four places down in the overall ranking, it has still recorded an improvement on its actual rating, and the change in order is in fact due to major city finance centres such as Beijing, Washington and Boston, achieving significantly higher ratings during the last six months and moving up as a consequence. London remains number one in the rankings but it has dropped 15 ranking points and is now tied with New York, with Hong Kong now third.

Geoff Cook, Chief Executive of Jersey Finance Limited, commented:

“Considering the impact of the financial crisis and the scrutiny that has been directed at offshore finance centres, it is extremely encouraging that Jersey has improved its rating and retained its leading position among its offshore rivals. We are now the only jurisdiction in the offshore category in the top twenty so these rankings are very positive for us.”

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