The Jersey Financial Services Commission has bolstered its board with two newly appointed commissioners, whose combined expertise “will be a significant advantage for the organisation as the industry continues to evolve”.
The appointments of Paul Frost-Smith and Amarjit Singh come as two members step down from the board, with the JFSC now sitting with five commissioners based on-island and three off-island.
Mr Frost-Smith, who has taken on the role of deputy chair, brings more than 35 years of experience in investment banking and capital markets.
His professional background includes time working for JP Morgan and setting up a hedge fund before transitioning into digital assets, with his most recent role being chief executive of Komainu – an institutional digital asset custodian. He is based in Jersey.
Mr Singh, who is based in the UK, brings extensive financial services expertise to his new position as commissioner.
He has led blockchain and digital asset initiatives across the EMEIA region, regularly speaks and leads industry panels and chairs the Risk and Audit Committee for NHS Charities Together.
These appointments further strengthen the breadth of experience around the board table and support Jersey’s position as a leading, forward-looking international finance centre
JFSC chair Jane Platt
JFSC chair Jane Platt said she was “delighted” to welcome Mr Frost-Smith and Mr Singh to the board.
She continued: “Their combined expertise and risk awareness in digital assets, blockchain, governance and broader financial services will be a significant advantage for the organisation as the industry continues to evolve.
“Jersey has a significant opportunity to build on its reputation for regulatory excellence while embracing innovation and their experience will help ensure the JFSC can support the island’s competitiveness and the ambitions of the Time to Win strategy.”
Ms Platt added: “These appointments further strengthen the breadth of experience around the board table and support Jersey’s position as a leading, forward-looking international finance centre.”
Mr Frost-Smith said that Jersey “has the opportunity to become a digital asset centre of excellence”.
He continued: “A significant part of my mission will be to drive this agenda to attract world-leading organisations to the island by helping to raise its profile on the international stage and facilitate ease of participation in the digital asset ecosystem, with appropriate safeguards.
“Digital assets, and tokenisation in particular, are the keys to unlock a broader audience, as institutional participation in digital assets is set to expand exponentially over the next five years.”
Mr Singh cited plans to “build on the great work already done in the digital assets space with Time to Win report and the subsequent launch of the Digital Asset Innovation Council”.
He said: “Jersey has a strong reputation as trusted financial services centre together with a principles-based regulator which makes it a very attractive jurisdiction for serious institutional firms to locate and further develop their digital asset services and products to a global client base.”
