Underwhelming might have been the best way to sum up the response to a growth strategy for the island’s financial services sector earlier this year.
Ironic since, fully powered up, a proper growth strategy for our leading industry is exactly what the island needs. Frankly it’s still the only game in town to spark the economic growth that might help lift the island out of torpor and GST blight.
But, of course, the first noticeable outcome from some 40 workstreams is to announce another, inevitably highly-paid, role which leaves people scratching their heads and raising their eyebrows. Isn’t this concierge role something that Guernsey Finance should be doing? Industry bring their own clients to the table. They don’t need another, agnostic, introducer. And when was the last time a third party rocked up out of nowhere, knowing no one, looking for help with a financial need? Meanwhile Locate Guernsey will still help individuals – even those with big businesses wanting to move to the island. The concierge’s role, apparently, is to make sure that everything runs smoothly for an individual setting up in the island.
The next move from the States has been to explain that the Guernsey Financial Services Commission is picking up most of the tab for this role, and oh, by the way, it’s a 12-month pilot. It looks a pretty ham-fisted way to show you mean business.
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