New Policy Brief on financial services

The Policy Centre has published a new Policy Brief on financial services.  This includes summaries of the recent Time to Win report on the competitiveness of the industry and of the Financial Services Commission’s new strategy and business plan.

The finance sector accounts for 45% of Jersey’s economic activity and about two thirds of tax revenue.

Jersey is a gateway for almost £500bn of foreign investment into the UK, comprising 5% of the entire stock of foreign-owned assets.

The Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) is the Island’s financial regulator. Its mission is to maintain Jersey’s position as a leading international finance centre, with high regulatory standards. The priorities in its current strategy are to support growth, be risk-based and proportionate, combat financial crime and deliver excellent service.

Jersey has been recognised for taking steps to strengthen its legal and regulatory framework to combat money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing of proliferation.

In March 2026 the Government published Time to Win, the final report from its financial competitiveness programme.  Key points –

• Jersey’s financial and related professional services (FRPS) sector is the bedrock of the Island’s economy and has funded public services that would otherwise have been impossible without higher rates of tax.
• But Jersey’s FRPS sector is facing multiple and converging threats. 
• Jersey’s core advantages remain real and valuable: legal certainty, political stability, strong courts, and a well-understood tax regime with tax neutrality at its heart. But Jersey is losing momentum because friction, complexity and institutional overlap have eroded advantages that were once converted into growth. 
• A reset is required of how Jersey operates as a system. This reset is not about changing the brand but about execution discipline, service culture, clarity of responsibility, and a renewed hunger to win.

A report by an expert panel chaired by Sir Howard Davies commented –

“Until now, Jersey has operated on the basis that it is a privilege for international customers to do business on the island. No longer. Jersey needs to accept that the privilege has shifted: it now needs to work hard to retain, promote and grow its financial services sector. There are many more options for mobile financial services businesses. This means a change in culture, policy and regulation across Government, its agencies and industry. Within Government this means policies and practices need to be re-focused on growth with buy-in across all departments.”