News

Banking

Commission consults on Fees for 2021

4th August 2020
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...

Home working - Information Security Risks

7th July 2020
The COVID 19 pandemic resulted in many licensees being unable to operate in their usual office environments. Entering Phase 5, a return to normal activity in the Bailiwick, has seen many licensees return to their offices but we are conscious that adoption of home working has accelerated. Information security risks can increase with home working and therefore we are highlighting a non-exhaustive...

LIBOR Transition

3rd July 2020
Over the last three months, various international supervisory bodies have reaffirmed the planned timelines for transition away from LIBOR to alternative reference rates, such as SONIA (Sterling Overnight Index Average) or SOFR (Secured Overnight Financing Rate). Firms should therefore continue to assume that they will be unable to rely on LIBOR being published beyond the end of 2021 and should...

Financial Crime Risk Return 2020

26th June 2020
The Financial Crime Risk Return for the reporting period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020 (the “Return”) will be available for completion on the Online Submissions Portal in July 2020. The submission deadline is 31 October 2020. Following the Commission's previous announcements, updates made to the 2020 Return include additional questions regarding the different classifications of politically exposed...

Handbook on Countering Financial Crime and Terrorist Financing

19th June 2020
The Commission has today, issued in final form, the revised Handbook on Countering Financial Crime and Terrorist Financing (“the Handbook”). The Commission has made these amendments, to the Handbook, in order to take into account the Bailiwick of Guernsey’s National Risk Assessment (“NRA”) on money laundering (“ML”) and the financing of terrorism (“FT”) which was published in January 2020. These...

Resumption of onsite inspections

8th June 2020
The Commission’s Financial Crime Division is recommencing its routine financial crime inspections to firms with immediate effect. Routine inspections were suspended on 19 March 2020 to enable firms to deal with the immediate operational impact of the coronavirus lockdown. Financial Crime inspections are resuming now as the finance industry has demonstrated its resilience and firms have generally...

Updated Commission deadlines for Key Financial Returns

28th May 2020
Following our announcement of 24 March 2020: https://www.gfsc.gg/news/article/commission-allows-more-time-firms-complete-key-financial-returns ], the Commission has been pleased to note the resilience of the Bailiwick’s finance sector including the widespread ability to work from home effectively. This operational resilience, taken together with recent States of Guernsey announcements regarding...

FATF Guidance - COVID-19-related Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Risks

11th May 2020
The Financial Action Task Force ("FATF") has released a guidance paper regarding COVID-19-related money laundering and terrorist financing risks, which can be accessed directly on the FATF website . This paper and other FATF guidance can be found within the FATF Guidance section of the Commission's Legislation and Guidance page.

Handbook on Countering Financial Crime and Terrorist Financing

28th April 2020
In response to operational adaptation that firms are undergoing as a result of restrictions imposed to tackle the spread of Covid-19, the Commission has decided to ease some of the timeframes in the Handbook rules. Specifically, those timeframes relating to the approval of business risk assessments and policies and procedures and for reviews of existing customers have been put back. The changes...