18 April 2018Analysis

MoU between Guernsey and Bank of England should help trade post-Brexit


The Guernsey Financial Services Commission has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bank of England, a reaffirmation of the relationship between the Guernsey regulator and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).

Through this agreement, both parties will be able to share confidential information about regulated entities and formally co-operate on other supervision activities.

The development has been welcomed by Guernsey Finance chief executive Dominic Wheatley, who said that a good relationship between regulators in Guernsey and the UK is important for financial services in the island, and particularly as both parties seek to reposition the trading relationship post-Brexit.

PRA is a part of the Bank of England and responsible for the prudential regulation and supervision of banks, insurers and major investment firms, regulating some 1,700 financial firms.

The agreement was signed by GFSC director-general William Mason and Sam Woods, deputy governor at the Bank of England for Prudential Regulation and CEO of the PRA.

“There is a very productive and good relationship between the GFSC and the PRA, and we see this confirmation as good news for the Bailiwick, demonstrating that we are regarded as credible operators by our main counterparties,” said Mason. “The MoU underlines the longstanding regulatory cooperation which has existed for a considerable period of time between the UK and the Bailiwick. It has been signed in the spirit of mutual co-operation and information exchange seen as crucial by the G20 countries and international standard-setters for financial services supervisors.”

Since mid-2016, Guernsey has set up four MoUs with the Chinese authorities, the most recent between the Guernsey regulator and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), along with Guernsey Finance and the Beijing Airport Economic Core Zone (BAECZ).