Guernsey Finance

The Commission was one of the world's first such unitary bodies, with the regulation of banking, insurance and investment activity being carried out under one roof. Regulated entities now include banks, company administrators, directors, insurers, insurance intermediaries, investment firms and intermediaries and trust administrators.

The Commission ensures that the providers of financial services in the Island carry out their business to established international standards. In addition to general powers of supervision, the Commission has statutory powers to enforce compliance with the laws regulating the conduct of finance business in Guernsey.

The Commission's main task under these laws is to ensure that all those institutions authorised to carry on finance business in the Island are fit and proper. This concept embraces integrity, competence and solvency. They should have sound management and adequate capital for their business, be owned and operated by fit and proper persons and observe established international standards of good business practice.

Institutions must also comply with international anti-money laundering requirements - new customers must always be properly identified and institutions must take appropriate steps to reassure themselves of the origin of funds transferred to the Island.

The Commission's high levels of international cooperation are demonstared by the fact that it has signed Memorandum of Undertandings (MoUs) with regulatory/supervisory bodies in Australia, Belgium, China, Cyprus, Dubai, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Hong Kong,  Iceland, Italy, Isle of Man, Jersey, Malta, Mauritius, Netherlands, South Africa, UK and the US as well as the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS).

In addition, the Guernsey Government has signed a MoU with the Shanghai Municipal Financial Services Office.

In January 2011 the International Monetary Fund published six evaluation reports which recognised and commended Guernsey’s high standards of financial regulation, supervision and stability along with its robust criminal justice framework.

Guernsey was assessed as having a high level of compliance with the international standards against which it was judged – the 25 Basel Core Principles for Effective Banking Supervision; the 28 Insurance Core Principles of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors; and the Financial Action Task Force 40 Recommendations on money laundering and 9 Special Recommendations on terrorist financing.  The financial stability of the finance sector was also assessed by evaluation of the vulnerabilities of the banking and insurance industries by stress tests.