General

As part of its continuing commitment to ensuring that supervisory standards are up to date and appropriate, the Commission is preparing revisions to the regulations and rules governing anti-money laundering (AML) standards for financial services businesses ‘the Handbook’ and for prescribed businesses (firms of lawyers, accountants and estate agents). These revisions largely arise from the...

As the result of the implementation of Ernst & Young LLP’s review of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission two regulatory/supervisory functions are being centralised to improve efficiency and consistency. An Authorisations Unit and an Anti-Money Laundering Division have been established. Previously these were undertaken separately by and within each of the Divisions. Owners, directors and...

​ The Director General of the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, Nik van Leuven, aged 65, will retire in June 2013. He was originally appointed under a contract expiring in December 2012, which has been extended to facilitate his successor to be appointed. Cees Schrauwers, the Chairman of the Commission, said: “We are grateful to Nik van Leuven for directing the GFSC during a period of...

​ The Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) is proposing that Guernsey should not immediately follow the UK by introducing the proposals of the UK Financial Services Authority’s (FSA) Retail Distribution Review (RDR), but instead wait and see what happens in the UK and elsewhere. The RDR examined long-standing problems in the UK retail investment sector, particularly around professional...

​The Commission has updated the warranties on the Form REG, Form QIF and Form FTL to take into account the Commission’s Guidance Notes on Personal Questionnaires and Personal Declarations. In particular, the following warranty (varies slightly dependent on the application) has been inserted in the aforementioned forms, “I confirm that we, the proposed designated manager/administrator/principal...

The Commission would remind all companies which hold a licence from the Commission under the regulatory laws or which are registered or authorised as collective investment schemes (“funds”) under (i) below that an assurance statement under the Finance Sector Code of Corporate Governance* ("the Code") must be submitted to the Commission by no later than 31 July 2012. The regulatory laws are: the...

The Commission has recently resolved, having consulted the Commerce and Employment Department of the States of Guernsey, that it should ordinarily refuse applications to register financial services businesses under the Registration of Non-Regulated Financial Services Businesses (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2008, where the business consists of offering high interest, short-term, unsecured lending...

​ The Guernsey Financial Services Commission (GFSC) has appointed Neville Johnson as Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Tim Loveridge as Chief Transformation Officer (CTO). The post of COO is new, following the recommendation of Ernst & Young’s Independent Evaluation Review (IER) but it will incorporate existing functions concerning the Commission’s finances. Mr Johnson, previously Acting Director...

​ Guernsey’s Anti-Bribery and Corruption Committee has hosted a conference on anti-corruption, which was attended by over 450 delegates. This committee comprises representatives of the Law Officers’ Chambers, Guernsey Law Enforcement and the Guernsey Financial Services Commission. The reference in the conference title to the “Puppet Masters” was taken, by courtesy of, and with thanks to, the World...