GFSC ‘not as approachable as it used to be’ – Giba chairman
CRITICISM that its contacts with industry are becoming too formal has been rejected by the island’s financial services regulator.
At the GFSC's annual industry update, David Oxburgh, chairman of the Guernsey International Business Association, the island’s overarching financial services industry body, said there was a feeling among regulated firms that the regulator ‘was not as approachable as it used to be’ – a claim also backed up by senior industry figures.
Mr Oxburgh said telephone inquiries to the regulator were being met with advice to write in to receive a written response. ‘Is this an inevitable consequence of a risk-based approach?’ he asked.
GFSC director-general William Mason said his staff’s role was not to act as ‘compliance consultant or legal adviser’ and said the job was ‘not purely reactive’.
‘For something out of the ordinary, we have our Innovation Soundbox and our directors are often spending time having coffees with industry, so I do challenge the assertion that we won’t offer support on things.’
Full story in today's Guernsey Press
