Jersey’s role as ‘transnational centre’ highlighted at City Week forum

Tuesday 07 April 2015

Jersey’s positive role in connecting emerging and well-established finance centres and facilitating flows of capital across continental and domestic borders was highlighted at the major annual City Week International Financial Services Forum in London last week.

At the event, attended by around 600 policymakers, finance and business professionals from more than 50 countries, Jersey Finance’s Deputy CEO, Richard Corrigan took part in a panel session entitled ‘Competition and collaboration between global financial centres to create economic growth’, alongside representatives from Istanbul, Casablanca, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong.

During the session, panellists discussed financial regulation, corporate governance, and jurisdictional competition, and agreed that collaboration between international finance centres was highly desirable. Discussing the role of regional centres such as Casablanca and Istanbul as access points to domestic markets and global leaders such as London and New York as providers of depth and liquidity, Richard Corrigan highlighted Jersey’s role as a ‘transnational centre’ that can help connect such centres together.

The three day event (23-26 March) was held at the Mermaid Conference and Events Centre and focused on 'The Role of International Financial Services in Driving the Global Economic Recovery'. Organised under a partnership between the UK Government, TheCityUK and City & Financial, the forum featured keynote speeches from Andrea Leadsom MP, Economic Secretary to the UK Treasury and Chris Leslie MP, Shadow Chief Secretary to the UK Treasury. Other panel sessions focussed on China, India, the Middle East, Africa and Europe, as well as global regulation and the impact of technology on financial services.

Speaking after the forum, Richard Corrigan said: “Participating in this event proved a good way to demonstrate how Jersey is well placed to act not against other centres but in collaboration with them, as a facilitator in moving capital across continents and into and out of key domestic hubs – something that, given global macro trends for globalisation and population growth, will prove increasingly important.

“At the same time, jurisdictional competition and diversity are important. Jersey, for instance, provides an attractive alternative route for European investor market access under AIFMD through its third-country private placement regime. Those centres, like Jersey, that can demonstrate a balanced and pragmatic approach to collaboration and competition, through regulation, international engagement and innovation, will be the ones that thrive in the future.”