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Anyone attending a talk from Ministers, or the top dogs of Jersey's key industry, will have found that they hit the jackpot at finance bingo at an astounding pace.
"Well-regulated" - tick. "Transparency" - tick. "Anti-money laundering" - tick. The list goes on.
In fact, they're terms that most islanders have heard so many times, that they could probably deliver speeches of their own on the matter. But what good is that?
The "not a tax haven" message is one we want to be hearing on the lips of global business leaders and the national media, but it often doesn't work like that, as finance industry expert and Express columnist The Insider explains...
"I was struck by two announcements this week. Each, in their own way said much about the local finance industry and its place in the world.
The first was: “Jersey woman hired to clean up “troubled” IoD.”
Jersey woman hired to clean up “troubled” IoD amid racism claims | Bailiwick Express https://t.co/XyqzrgleP9
— Bailiwick Express (@bailiwickxpress) September 3, 2018
My congratulations to Charlotte Valeur on becoming the Chair of the Institute of Directors – it’s certainly a prestigious job for which there must have been intense competition. No doubt she is now having to field a good number of incoming calls from the Jersey establishment keen to cosy up. After all, she could be a very helpful ally of Jersey to state its case on the national stage, in the years to come.
Side note: I couldn’t help but notice that Ms Valeur was described as a “corporate governance expert” and a champion of diversity. Corporate governance and compliance have been one of the few growth areas within the finance industry over the last 10 years. My advice to young people wishing to make career progress is to fill your CV with such skills. Sadly, whilst they are unlikely to lead to better outcomes for the consumer, or reduce the risk of bad outcomes for society, they will be much in demand on the career ladder. But I digress…
The second news piece to capture my attention was: “Top finance CEO stepping down.”
Jersey Finance’s Geoff Cook, who is leaving after 12 years, is well-known and well-liked. Few people have worked as tirelessly to promote the industry and he has been a dedicated public servant which other jurisdictions have tried, and largely failed, to emulate. Nobody has been more positive and upbeat in promoting Jersey as a high quality modern jurisdiction for financial services. The most his critics can say is that they didn’t always agree with him, or he has been too positive in his cheerleading.
Top finance CEO stepping down | Bailiwick Express https://t.co/hI5BoFQIoR
— Bailiwick Express (@bailiwickxpress) September 4, 2018
Now, whilst this pair of headlines might seem unrelated, or perhaps only tied by virtue of relating to high-profile local career moves, a theme emerges…
What joins the two headlines for me is a Sunday Times article about Ms Valeur’s appointment, stating that the IoD would face, “...awkward questions over the appointment of somebody who lives in a tax haven.”
So here we are, well-wishing the outgoing Mr Cook for his energetic efforts in promoting the island as a leading international finance centre, yet Jersey still cannot escape being tarred as a "tax haven." (And this is coming from the Sunday Times! Hardly the ‘holier than thou’ Guardian where one might expect it.)
It appears that, no matter how hard we try, there is still the insinuation that something grubby and unclean remains. Whether the words are unwelcome or unfair doesn’t seem to matter – “tax haven”, of course accompanied by a smirk, always seems to be the response people get internationally when they say they live in Jersey.
Pictured: Jersey needs to get the word out that there's not something "grubby" under the surface of the finance industry.
So what do we do about this? Well, it’s certainly a difficult hill to climb.
Having done business in many jurisdictions, I’m confident in saying that our anti-money laundering standards are higher than most – higher than the UK, in fact, and swathes of Europe too. I am also confident that our regulator is more aggressive than most (often unnecessarily so) in ensuring we are complying – even where we it tends towards process over outcome.
The pendulum in Jersey has swung much further against conducting business, with the consequent cost impact for firms and loss of flexibility for clients, than almost anywhere else that I know. Whilst we may be leaders in compliance and corporate governance – Ms Valeur being a notable example - we are no longer a low-cost, efficient jurisdiction, where it is easy to do business.
All of this and yet the perception has not changed. So more of the same is surely not the answer.
I don’t think we can overcome this unless we adopt a more asymmetric approach. I would love to see the new heads of Jersey Finance and the Jersey Financial Services Commission reflect on the benefits of 'more of the same' before they take up their new posts, and adopt a more thoughtful approach to our place in the world.
Perhaps a confession for sins of the past, and help in pointing a finger at the current sinners, might be a good place to start."
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and not of Bailiwick Express.
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