Consumers

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...

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...

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...

On 29 May 2020, the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, acting to protect the interests of investors and pursuant to powers granted to it under the Protection of Investors (Administration and Intervention) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Ordinance of 2008, made an application to the Court to have administrators appointed to Continent Worldwide Limited, a company licensed under the Protection of...

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...

The Financial Services Commission (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1987 (the “Financial Services Commission Law”)The Protection of Investors (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1987 (the “POI Law”) The Insurance Managers and Insurance Intermediaries (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002 (the “IMII Law”) The Insurance Business (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2002 (the “Insurance Law”) The Regulation of Fiduciaries...

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...

The Commission has published, on the consumer pages of its website, advice for consumers on coronavirus-related fraud attempts. This advice aims to provide easily accessible and clear information to help people living in the Bailiwick protect themselves from these latest types of fraud and explains what to do if they fall victim to a fraud or attempted fraud. The advice can be found on the...

Directors of Licensees will be mindful in these extraordinary times of their duties towards their own incorporated entity, regardless of whether it is a local business or forms part of a larger group of companies. Licensed entities are of course subject to the law, but holding a Licence from the Commission also adds various requirements laid down by the Commission in Rules, Conditions or other...

Amending the Timing of Financial Return filings with the CommissionThe Commission is conscious that almost all firms will be experiencing certain operational issues as they transition to an environment in which many of their staff will be working from home. Mindful of this and of some significant impending deadlines for financial returns, it is making the following changes to its expectations...