VIDEO: Is finance "dull, daunting and dangerous?"

Friday 10 February 2017

One of the most senior figures in Jersey's finance industry has issued a rallying call to the sector to show better leadership and explain to the local community what it does.

John Harris, the Director General of the Jersey Financial Services Commission, argued that the industry was at a turning point, and new leaders needed to come forward who would be less sales-driven, and more in tune with what their customers actually wanted.

He was speaking last night at an event organised by Leadership Jersey, which was set up to discuss whether leadership within the critical financial services sector needed to improve.

Mr Harris argued that it did, and said the Island had so far failed to help new leaders to come forward, once senior figures such as the States' advisor Colin Powell came to the end of their careers.

He pointed out that financial services were just an enabler, that the sector was complex and wasn't the sort of industry that children dreamed of going into. He also argued that when the industry failed, it pushed people into severe poverty, something which had been highlighted by the JFSC's recent mis-selling campaign:

"I'm quite worried about the way in which finance is regarded and we're going to go on and talk about effective leadership, which is in a way, is mitigation strategy, how do you combat this relentless growing feeling of negativity. Why? It's pretty obvious, there's been the greatest financial crisis since the depression, we're nearly ten years after that crisis, and the long term effects are still being felt. Finance can, and I emphasises CAN, be seen as dull, daunting and dangerous, and in the minds of many it is that...That needs to be turned around. We have an image problem."

"There is a need for change, that's my basic thesis, and of course the leadership type for this change is not the same leadership type that we've had before, it's not the same thrusting commercial attitude, let's change the cost income ratio, let's maximise the profit, let's have customers who give us this much profit rather than this much profit. This is fairly elementary, and basic, stuff, but it all proceeds form that notion that we need to play a different game than we played before. So in this environment, what makes a better leader?"

He argued that the Island's financial services sector needed to speak out for itself more; he said the sector had been very successful in promoting itself internationally, but not so much in Jersey:

"This is a debate which comes up time and time again, is the finance industry in the Island or of the Island? Is it some sort of artificial construct that's bolted onto the side, that many of the population don't understand, far less embrace. Is there an opportunity to do something about that? Should that opportunity be taken, or should we just continue as we are...you could argue the schism in our community is growing rather than receding? I tend to the former view, and think that something needs to be done, and this is a leadership issue, and more voices are needed."

The Panel discussing Mr Harris' comments included Naomi Rive, the MD of Highvern, Jane Pearce, MD of the Jersey office of Vistra, and Wendy Dorman, former Chair of the IoD, and Board member of Jersey Finance and the JEC. 

The event was organised by Kevin Keen and Helen Hart from Leadership Jersey, and raised funds for Durrell.