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WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE CHIEF MINISTER
BY DEPUTY G.P. SOUTHERN OF ST. HELIER ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 18th MARCH 2014
Question
What role, if any, does the Jersey Financial Services Commission have in the regulation or supervision of the activities of the Channel Islands Stock Exchange (formerly CISX) and if none, given the extensive use of the exchange by Jersey companies and traders and the recent situation surrounding the involvement of the Chief Minister of Guernsey, does he not consider that some supervisory role should be undertaken by Jersey authorities?
Does the Chief Minister consider that the minimal supervision of the activities of CISX over the past decade, including the ability of the Chairman of the Regulator to be a Director of CISX simultaneously, bring the reputation of all Channel Islands as financial centres into disrepute and, if so, what action, if any, does he propose to restore this Island's reputation and/or to distance Jersey from activities in Guernsey?
In the light of the involvement of Robert Christensen and Advocate Tim Herbert as directors of CISX during the alleged "ramping" of share prices in 2005, will the Chief Minister request the Minister for Economic Development to take any action in relation to their membership of the Jersey Finance Limited Board and the Chairmanship of the Jersey Innovation Fund, respectively?
Answer
The Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) has no role in the regulation or supervision of the activities of the Channel Islands Stock Exchange (formerly CISX) or its successor body the Channel Islands Securities Exchange (CISE). There is no provision either within the remit of the Commission or within any of the legislation administered by it to regulate or supervise stock exchange activities. It follows that the JFSC has had no part to play, nor function to fulfil, in respect of recent matters involving the CISX.
The JFSC considers it would be neither appropriate nor practical for it to be given a role of supervising every exchange used by Jersey companies and traders, or to regulate exchange activities elsewhere, by dint of the involvement of Jersey based companies in such exchanges.
As the activities of CISX are under investigation it would not be appropriate for any comment to be made about those activities either generally or in respect of named individuals. Once the investigations have been completed and the findings are known we will then be in a position to consider, in consultation with our Guernsey colleagues, what action if any it would be appropriate and helpful for Jersey to take to safeguard the Island's reputation.