General

On 12 th October 2020 The Bank of England (“BoE”) published a letter that it had sent to a selection of UK financial services firms. This letter requested feedback in relation to any possible operational implications that firms would encounter if the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (“MPC”) implemented a zero or negative policy rate. A copy of the letter is available here. Although the...

Second Quarter 2020 Guernsey Funds The total net asset value of Guernsey funds has decreased in Sterling terms during the last quarter by £6.4 billion (-2.7%) to £226.8 billion. Over the past year, total net asset values have decreased by £0.9 billon (-0.4%). Open-ended Schemes Within these totals, Guernsey domiciled open-ended funds increased over the quarter by £3.1 billion (6.8%) to £47.8...

The Guernsey Financial Services Commission has issued today a Consultation Paper seeking views from interested parties on proposed Cyber Security Rules and an accompanying Guidance Note for all licenced entities under the various supervisory laws. A copy of the Consultation Paper, Draft Rules and the Draft Guidance can be found here: https://www.gfsc.gg/commission/legislation-and-guidance...

The Commission is pleased to announce a further appointment to the Panel of Senior Decision Makers (SDMs) which the Commission has established for the purpose of considering and determining those enforcement cases which are not settled between the parties and the Commission. The new appointee as an SDM is Mr Russell Finch OBE who, until recently, was the first Judge of the Royal Court in Guernsey...

The Guernsey Financial Services Commission has issued today a Consultation Paper seeking views from interested parties on a proposed Guidance Note for Custodians of open-ended collective investment schemes made under the Protection of Investors (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1987 (the “PoI Law”). A copy of the Consultation Paper and the Draft Guidance can be found here: https://www.gfsc.gg...

MONEYVAL has released a report titled "Money laundering and terrorism financing trends in MONEYVAL jurisdictions during the COVID-19 crisis”, which can be accessed directly on the MONEYVAL website. The report is based upon input from MONEYVAL members, including Guernsey.

On the 20th day of August 2020 the Commission imposed a discretionary financial penalty of £14,000 on Deborah Anne Ellis and prohibited her from holding the position of director, controller, partner or manager for a period of 1 year and 5 months. The exemption set out in section 3(1)(g) of the Fiduciaries Law (which would otherwise permit Mrs Ellis to act as a director of not more than six...

The Guernsey Financial Services Commission has issued today two discussion papers seeking views from interested parties on proposals concerning rules to be made following the States of Deliberation’s approval of the Regulation of Fiduciaries, Administration Businesses and Company Directors, etc (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020 (the "2020 Fiduciaries Law") and the Protection of Investors...

The Commission today launches a consultation paper on proposals for increasing the licence fees paid by firms (please click here for a copy of the consultation paper). The consultation period will close on Tuesday 15 September. The proposals are for an increase of 2.1% across all sectors, based upon Guernsey’s RPI, together with the introduction of a modest fee for fast track applications of £500...