GIFCS meets in London May 2018
The Group of International Finance Centre Supervisors (GIFCS) held its Plenary meeting in London on 1 and 2 May*, in conjunction with the Commonwealth Secretariat.The Plenary meeting addressed a number of key topics in today’s regulatory environment, including:
Prospects for the global economy and financial markets
Sovereign, bank and corporate ratings
A professional investor’s perspective on bank financial soundness
FATF’s current priorities with AML/CFT
AML/CFT challenges with money service businesses and professional services
Implementation of the GIFCS Standard for the regulation of trust and corporate service providers
New AML/CFT supervisory regime in Liechtenstein
Crypto and FinTech developments
Regulation of crypto currencies
Peer group evaluations of members’ compliance with the GIFCS Standard are underway, and the Plenary received a report on the first evaluation which is shortly to be completed. In due course a report on each evaluation will be published.
At the meeting two additional members (Bahamas and Barbados) signed the GIFCS Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMOU). The MMOU provides the basis for liaison and exchange of information between GIFCS members when conducting supervision of trust and company service providers. Two members remain working towards full signatory status within an agreed timetable.
The Plenary considered an application from a previous member to rejoin the GIFCS. As a result Mauritius was welcomed back as a member.
Immediately after the Plenary two GIFCS meetings of supervisory colleges were held, attended by a number of members. Colleges of supervisors facilitate the oversight of financial services groups, to develop a better understanding of how such groups operate and manage their businesses across different jurisdictions.
The next Plenary of the GIFCS will be held in November 2018, on a date and at a location to be announced.
The GIFCS brings together supervisors from smaller financial centres around the world, with the aim of encouraging and assisting the implementation of international standards of regulation. Please see www.gifcs.org for further information.
Notes for Editors
The GIFCS is a long-established group of financial services supervisors with a core interest of promoting the adoption of international regulatory standards especially in the banking, fiduciary and AML/CFT arena.
The GIFCS was established in 1980. Today its membership accounts for a market share of approaching 10% of global international banking assets. The Group, which meets formally twice a year, has become a very positive contributor to promoting compliance among its membership with the Basel Core Principles and the FATF Recommendations on AML/CFT. It also contributes to some of the work of IOSCO. The GIFCS has become recognised as a leading authority on the regulation of trust and company service providers, the interface of these intermediaries with AML/CFT standards, and on the principle of identifying beneficial owners behind trust and company structures. It has issued an international Standard for regulation of this sector.
Please see www.gifcs.org for further information.
Contact:
John R Aspden
Chairman
Group of International Finance Centre Supervisors
C/o PO Box 58
Finch Hill House
Bucks Road
Douglas
Isle of Man IM99 1DT
Web: www.gifcs.org
Email: john.aspden@gifcs.org
Tel: +44 (0)7403610895
11 May 2018
* GIFCS members are Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Curacao & Sint Maarten, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Labuan, Macao SAR, Mauritius, Qatar, Samoa, Turks & Caicos Islands and Vanuatu. Regulators from Liechtenstein and the Seychelles joined the meeting as observers. Representatives of the Secretariat of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision and of the Financial Stability Institute attended as speakers.