General

The Commission has today published its 2022 annual report and financial statements. In the annual report, the Commission discusses: the increased risks faced by the financial services sector as a result of high inflation and rising interest rates; its continued development of digital technology to enhance performance; its work with Guernsey Finance and others to develop the Bailiwick’s proposition...

Additional Question The 2023 Fiduciary Annual Return, which will be available on licensees' timelines on 27 May 2023, includes the following additional question: Breakdown of business by geography for trusts, foundations, companies and partnerships. Currently fiduciary licensees are required to identify the country of residence of the settlor of a trust, the founder of a foundation or the...

Following publication by the Royal Court, we are making available the judgment of the Deputy Bailiff given in response to Mr Kelham’s appeal against the sanctions imposed on him by the Commission’s Senior Decision Maker. Those sanctions were covered separately in the public statement we issued on 18 May 2023 following Mr Kelham’s decision not to further appeal the matter. This appeal hearing was...

The Financial Services Commission (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1987 (the “Financial Services Commission Law”); The Criminal Justice (Proceeds of Crime) (Financial Services Businesses) (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Regulations, 2007 as amended (“the Regulations”). The Handbook for Financial Services Businesses on Countering Financial Crime and Terrorist Financing (“the Handbook”). The Principles of the...

We are preparing to ask the Guernsey Court of Appeal to review legal aspects of the judgment handed down in this matter on 18 April 2023 because some of the reasoning and interpretation of the law contained in the judgment does not align with our understanding of our statutory duties and powers - as endorsed by the Royal Court and Guernsey Court of Appeal in prior judgments concerning appeals...

Thank you to everyone who took advantage of the early submission window and associated discounted fee structure. The Commission received a significant number of applications during this period which ran from 1 February to 31 March 2023. As we received a large number of applications at the same time, please note it may take us several weeks to get in contact with everyone who has submitted during...

Guernsey Funds   The total net asset value of Guernsey funds decreased over the quarter by £11.1 billion (-3.7%).  Over the past year, total net asset values have decreased by £12.0 billon (-3.9%).  Open-ended Schemes   Within these totals, Guernsey domiciled open-ended funds decreased over the quarter by £2.8 billion (-5.3%) to £50.8 billion.  This represents a decrease of £3.7 billion (-6.9%) in...

Further to the announcement in our 2021 Annual Report advising of our intention to implement mandatory two-factor authentication (‘2FA’) on our Online Portals for all our regulated entities, we have been working on our background systems. On this basis by 31 May 2023, the Commission intends to switch 2FA on for all Portal Users who have not yet enabled this functionality. 2FA is an additional...

Today, the Commission issued a Consultation Paper on Retail General Insurers. General, as opposed to life, insurance concerns coverage for house contents, bikes, health costs and so on. Guernsey already offers such insurance on a global basis and aims to grow this business. To support this aim, the Commission intends to develop further the current regulatory regime. This involves a strengthening...