blog.gov.jeThe Island’s financial services sector operates in an increasingly competitive global environment. A cross-agency team – bringing together government, the regulator and industry – is working to ensure Jersey is taking decisive steps to protect and grow its financial services sector. Tom Le Feuvre, Director of External Relations at the Government of Jersey, shares the story behind the Financial Services Competitiveness Programme, an ambitious, collaborative effort to strengthen the sector that accounts for nearly half the Island’s economy.
For more than 60 years, Jersey has established its reputation as a mature and respected International Finance Centre (IFC). With its strong regulatory foundation, stable government, and deep expertise in areas such as banking, funds, investment management, and private wealth, Jersey has consistently attracted global clients and financial activity.
But like any successful enterprise, long-term relevance demands more than a good track record. Around the world, financial centres are evolving fast, shaped by economic headwinds, new regulatory norms, emerging technologies, and shifting macroeconomic and geopolitical dynamics. Jersey must navigate these changes to survive and continue to thrive.
That’s where the Financial Services Competitiveness Programme begins.
Recognising what’s at stake
Jersey’s financial and related professional services (FRPS) sector is not just a segment of the economy it is the backbone. It employs more Islanders than any other sector, generates approximately 46% of all economic activity, and underpins the tax revenues that fund hospitals, schools, infrastructure, and public services.
The continued success of this sector is inseparable from Jersey’s broader prosperity. The question facing Jersey’s leaders was clear: How do we safeguard what we’ve built and position it to thrive for the next decade?
In response, a diverse group of policymakers, regulators, industry experts, and public servants joined forces to launch the Financial Services Competitiveness Programme. The goal is simple in principle but ambitious in scope: to protect Jersey’s current economic strength while unlocking new pathways for growth over the next ten years.
This is not an exercise in bureaucratic planning. It is a hands-on, action-oriented programme, overseen by a Ministerial Working Group and led by the Minister for External Relations. The Chief Executive Officer acts as the Senior Responsible Officer, supported by a cross-government team. Representatives from Jersey Finance, the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC), Digital Jersey, and industry are all at the table.
Together, this coalition is asking tough questions, gathering insight from across the Island and beyond, and building a shared vision for a more competitive, more dynamic future.
The work of the programme is organised around four strategic workstreams, with each designed to address a key dimension of Jersey’s competitiveness:
- International Tax Strategy
Led by Revenue Jersey, this workstream focuses on creating a tax framework that keeps Jersey competitive and compliant in a fast-changing global landscape. - Business and Regulatory Environment
This stream is delivering practical, quick-impact improvements to ease of doing business and regulatory efficiency, while also shaping longer-term reforms. Industry feedback has already been collected through active workshops. The Minister will announce the first series of reforms in late July. - External Growth Strategy
Comparing Jersey’s strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats, against global trends and competing jurisdictions, this stream will offer data-driven insights and targeted investment opportunities to fuel long-term, realisable international growth. - Future Competitiveness and Regulation
This stream will bring together a high-level panel of global experts to synthesise and prioritise the findings from across the workstreams, producing an independent report for Ministers.
At the end of this process of research and reflection, the government will publish a final report and action plan in 2026 that will shape Jersey’s strategy into the next decade.
These efforts align closely with other major initiatives such as Jersey Finance’s Vision2050 and the JFSC’s registry and strategic reviews, which ensures that workstreams are not happening in silos, but as part of a broader, coordinated vision.
Engaging the Island and beyond
Key to the programme’s success is ongoing engagement with stakeholders through:
- Industry events and consultations
- Ministerial speeches and policy briefings
- Updates at Financial Services Advisory Board meetings
- Sessions for States Members and scrutiny panels
Communication is constant, and openness is a priority. Everyone from global partners to local firms must feel part of the journey.
Initial reports from industry engagement are expected by early summer. More activity is set to begin under the external growth strategy in the coming months. But this is just the beginning.
The recommendations that emerge from this programme will guide concrete decisions, including how public investment is allocated between 2025 and 2028 to boost productivity, digital capability, and skills across the sector.
This is more than a programme; it’s a shared commitment to Jersey’s future. As the financial world continues to evolve, Jersey is choosing to lead, not follow. The Financial Services Competitiveness Programme provides the blueprint, but it is the collaboration, confidence, and clarity of purpose from government, industry, and the community that will bring it to life.
For more on the Financial Services Competitiveness Programme, please see: Financial Services Competitiveness Programme.