International Cooperation

The Commission is a founder member of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). IAIS was formed in 1994 and is a voluntary membership organisation of insurance supervisors and regulators from more than 200 jurisdictions. It is located at the Bank for International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland. The Mission of IAIS is to promote effective and globally consistent supervision of the insurance industry in order to develop and maintain fair, safe and stable insurance markets for the protection of policyholders, and to contribute to global financial stability.

IAIS coordinates its work with other international financial policymakers and associations of supervisors or regulators, and assists in shaping financial systems globally. In particular, the IAIS is a member of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), member of the Standards Advisory Council of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), and partner in the Access to Insurance Initiative (A2ii). In recognition of its collective expertise, IAIS also is routinely called upon by G20 leaders and other international standard setting bodies for input on insurance issues, as well as on issues related to the regulation and supervision of the global financial sector.

The Group of International Insurance Centre Supervisors

The Group of International Insurance Centre Supervisors (GIICS) was formed in 1993, in the name of the Offshore Group of Insurance Supervisors, as an association of supervisory authorities concerned with the supervision of international insurance business.

The group’s main objectives are:

• to provide mechanisms and forums whereby insurance supervisors from jurisdictions concerned with international insurance business may discuss areas of mutual interest and concern and formulate appropriate policies;
• to provide assistance and encouragement to appropriate non-member jurisdictions to establish regimes for the supervision of international insurance business at least to standards equivalent to those of the group;
• to represent the interests of the group at international insurance forums; and
• generally, to promote the proper supervision of international insurance business.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) was created in 1983 and is recognised as the global standard setter for the securities sector. Comprising of 237 ordinary, associate and affiliate members, IOSCO develops, implements, and promotes adherence to internationally recognised standards for securities regulation, working closely with the G20 and the Financial Stability Board on the global regulatory reform agenda. 

The Commission was originally admitted as an Associate Member in 1991 and became a full Ordinary Member in 1997.

IOSCO now embraces almost all the world’s securities and derivatives regulatory bodies and plays an increasingly important role in assisting members to achieve and maintain high regulatory standards in the interests of investors and the prevention of crime. 

IOSCO members have resolved:

• to cooperate in developing, implementing and promoting adherence to international recognised and consistent standards of regulation, oversight and enforcement in order to protect investors, maintain fair, efficient and transparent markets, and seek to address systemic risks;
• to enhance investor protection and promote investor confidence in the integrity of securities markets, through strengthened information exchange and cooperation in enforcement against misconduct and in supervision of markets and market intermediaries; and
• to exchange information at both global and regional levels on their respective experiences in order to assist the development of markets, strengthen market infrastructure and implement appropriate regulation.

Financial crime

The Guernsey authorities, including the Commission, are committed to meeting established international standards on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism.  In this respect the September 2015 report from MONEYVAL, and prior reports in October 2003 and January 2011 from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), on their evaluations of the AML/CFT framework of the Bailiwick of Guernsey concluded that the Bailiwick has a high level of compliance with the standards set by the Financial Action Task Force.

THE FINANCIAL ACTION TASK FORCE (FATF)

FATF is an inter-governmental body whose purpose is to set international standards to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and proliferation financing. The FATF also monitors countries to ensure they implement the FATF Standards fully and effectively.  In total, more than 200 countries and jurisdictions have committed to implement the FATF’s Standards and they are assessed with the help of nine FATF Associate Member organisations and other global partners, the IMF and World Bank. 

Guernsey is not a FATF member but is a Crown Dependency of the United Kingdom (which is a FATF member). Through Guernsey's membership of GIFCS, a body that has observer status at the FATF, Commission representatives frequently attend FATF plenaries and contribute to FATF workstreams such as beneficial ownership and approaches to AML/CFT supervision. 

Council of Europe’s Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money Laundering Measures (MONEYVAL)

MONEYVAL is a permanent monitoring body of the Council of Europe entrusted with the task of assessing compliance with the principal international standards to counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism and the effectiveness of their implementation, as well as with the task of making recommendations to national authorities in respect of necessary improvements to their systems. Through a dynamic process of mutual evaluations, peer review and regular follow-up of its reports, MONEYVAL aims to improve the capacities of national authorities to fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism more effectively. MONEYVAL is one of the nine FATF Associate Members referred to above.

Guernsey has been a member of MONEYVAL since 10 October 2012 and was last evaluated by MONEYVAL in 2014, the report from which was published in January 2016.

Sustainable Finance

The Commission is engaged with other regulators to develop awareness, understanding and capabilities on how to respond to climate-related risks. The Commission contributes to the development of proportionate standards to support the finance industry in its response to climate change.

Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS)

The Commission became a member of the NGFS in 2019. The NGFS is a network of central banks and supervisors who share best practices and contribute to the development of environment and climate risk management in the financial sector. The NGFS also supports the mobilisation of capital for green and low-carbon investments in the broader context of environmentally sustainable development. 

Taskforce for Nature-based Financial Disclosure Forum (TNFD)

The Commission joined the TNFD Forum in May 2022. The TNFD was established to develop and deliver a risk management and disclosure framework for organisations to report and act on evolving nature-related risks, with the aim of supporting a shift in global financial flows away from nature-negative outcomes and toward nature-positive outcomes. 

Sustainable Insurance Forum (SIF)

The Commission became a member of the SIF in 2018. The SIF is a network of leading insurance supervisors and regulators seeking to strengthen their understanding of and responses to sustainability issues for the business of insurance. It is a global platform for knowledge sharing, research and collective action. The Commission contributes to ongoing work streams of the SIF and learns from the expertise within the network to develop its understanding of sustainability within the insurance sector. 

IOSCO Sustainable Finance Network (SFN)

The Commission has been a member of IOSCO’s Sustainable Finance Network since February 2019. The SFN facilitates the sharing of information, knowledge and experiences related to sustainable finance issues. It acts as a vehicle for carrying out collaborative work on common regulatory and supervisory issues and acts as the IOSCO central point for dialogue and exchange of views with other bodies in this area.

United Nations’ Financial Centres for Sustainability (UN FC4S)

Guernsey joined the UN FC4S in 2018. The Network includes other leading financial centres including London, Frankfurt, Paris and Zurich, who share an objective to exchange experience and take common action on shared priorities to accelerate the expansion of green and sustainable finance. Guernsey’s participation is facilitated through Guernsey Finance