States of Guernsey

Thursday 18 December 2008

The Commerce and Employment Department has announced the proposed membership of the Guernsey Banking Deposit Compensation Board.

It will be chaired by Charles Tracy, who will be joined by John Lee, Steve Butterworth and Nigel Carey.

The appointment will be laid before the States for approval, hopefully at the January 2009 meeting.

The Department has also released some Frequently Asked Questions, which can be downloaded from this page.

Wednesday 26 November 2008

The States of Deliberation has approved the Ordinance to allow the immediate creation of a Depositor Compensation Scheme for Guernsey, as outlined in the Report to the States.

Proposals for Guernsey's Depositor Compensation Scheme have been formally unveiled in a States Report which will be debated by the States of Deliberation on Wednesday 26 November.

The press release and full report is available for download to the right of this page.

The Policy Council's Technical Group developing a Depositors Compensation Scheme met again today. A press release was issued after the meeting and can be downloaded from the box (right).

The Policy Council’s ‘Technical Group’ working on the introduction of a Depositors’ Compensation Scheme for Guernsey met for the second time today.

The Group, chaired by Deputy Charles Parkinson, comprises representatives of the Commerce and Employment Department, the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, and the Association of Guernsey Banks.

The meeting was able to consider analysis of the deposit base of all banks in Guernsey, which was essential in assessing the potential costs of any scheme.

Deputy Parkinson said:

‘I believe that we have today made significant progress towards introducing a Depositors’ Compensation Scheme for Guernsey with a compensation ceiling of £50,000, as is currently the case in the UK.

‘We are considering schemes already in use in other small jurisdictions and introducing some of our own thinking.’

It has been agreed that the proposed scheme should:

cover individual retail depositors, not companies and corporate deposits;

cover Guernsey residents and non-residents;

and that compensation would be due in respect of each individual in each licensed bank. Joint account holders would both be eligible.

The scheme would come into effect as soon as it is agreed by the States, but would not be retrospective.

Alan Bougourd, committee member of the Association of Guernsey Banks, who attended the meeting as one of the AGB’s representatives, said:

‘A significant amount of data on the scope of Guernsey's retail deposit sector has now been collected and reviewed. This was an important requirement in order to develop the structure for the establishment of a sustainable and affordable DCS. Good progress continues to be made on both the mechanics of the scheme itself and the legal framework necessary for its introduction.’

A further meeting of the group will be held next week. A report will be considered by the States at its meeting on 26 November.

Friday 21 November 2008