GuernseyFinance spreading word ahead of G20
Wednesday 25th March 2009, 2:32PM GMT.
DEFENCE of the island’s reputation against claims of it being a tax haven are once more being stepped up by GuernseyFinance.
The promotional agency for the finance industry has been busy engaging with key opinion-formers ahead of the G20 summit in London next week.
‘There has obviously been a lot of rhetoric on both sides of the Atlantic regarding so-called tax havens and this has intensified during the approach to the G20 summit in London at the start of next month,’ said GuernseyFinance chief executive Peter Niven (pictured).
‘Our government has been active in engaging with politicians, particularly in the UK, and we at GuernseyFinance are backing this up by reaching key opinion-formers in our main centres of business such as London.
‘One important route is the media and we have been engaged both proactively and reactively with a very large number of journalists over the past few weeks, including reporters from the Financial Times.
‘Our message is that Guernsey is a leading international finance centre that is cooperative and transparent but this is being achieved without compromising client confidentiality.’
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Seems like a bit of a last minute, desperate panic reaction from a jurisdiction which is not a tax haven and is so transparent and compliant!
Do I detect that all is not quite as good with the island’s position as we have been led to believe?
If we were so cooperative, transparent and non-secretive several months ago, why the need and rush to suddenly create so many more information exchange agreements?
I think the answer is that someone has woken to the G20 threat.
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Well said Frank, well said indeed. The fat lady is warming up her vocal chords as we speak – pack your bags and run my good man before this place is well and truly shut down.
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I just wonder what exactly Peter Niven means by ‘Our message is that Guernsey is a leading international finance centre that is cooperative and transparent but this is being achieved without compromising client confidentiality.’
Does “without compromising client confidentiality” really mean secrecy?
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Well, this could be it guys. We knew that the finance industry would eventually go into serious decline, but always wondered how and why. It looks increasingly likely that the current global economic crisis is the answer to those questions. Financial domesday is still very much on the cards for many countries, particularly eastern bloc ones, and offshore finance centres such as ours.
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It is inevitable, better learn how to fish and grow tomatos again! at least we wont go hungry……
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Just had a quick look at the Financial Times web site to see what impact Guernsey Finance has had by talking to the FT journalists. The only story mentioning Guernsey in the last two weeks is about sales at Stanley Gibbons offshore branch here. Before that the Guernsey related stories were about a dividend for an AIM registered Guernsey company and the financial centre world rankings.
Maybe these journalists politely listen but are not really interested in Mr Niven’s message, because they’re intelligent enough to be aware of the true position?
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Ask anybody who attended last weeks ACCA seminar at St James and will tell you that Niven was at most clue less and showed a marked lack of of grasp of the threat facing the Island… if what they have done is talk to the PR people then they have wasted their time; they should have lobbied for a seat at the G20 meeting to argue their case… they should have plastered the whole of the FT and other financial columns with facts and specifics of why they should not be blacklisted…!
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I do not think that Guernsey is really a leading financal centre as it left the Landsbanki depositors in the rain and offered no real support. Beside the useless lipserces. Money is being withdrawn to better centres i.e. IOM, who do support their depositors. The Trott, Niven and co are not of any help to the once well reputed state of Guernsey. It is now in decay.
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At the risk of being boring, I have said before that it matters not how many tax information exchange agreements are signed – this is not the issue.
The main issue is that it is currently quite legal for “tax liability reduction schemes” to be set up here – this is why we have so many trust and company administrators. This type of business which is currently quite legal is that which G20 want to abolish, or at best make very difficult.
I am afraid that Nimrod and Penny are right – those with the power to do something just do not understand the problem.
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I had to re read the article and check it is not April 1st……remember Landsbanki?
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I agree with Simon. The good times are over all you bankers! Time to start throwing money at Tourism and HortAg again, oh yes, and the Guernsey people, so that new skills can be learnt – something for Education, instead of ruining enterprising individuals’ businesses (or trying to), e.g. surf schools and outdoor activity centres. It’s like a sit-com gone bad, turning to a Greek tragedy, watching Guernsey’s slow decline, and it’s all down to bad decisions by the powers that be.
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