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On location - Guernsey
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St. Peter Port
10
special
WHAT'S NEWS Issue 9 October 1997
Qj
London
A brief look at the names of
many Guernsey Rabobankers
and you'U probably piek up on
a distinct French influence.
The Channel Islands, or lies
Anglo-Normandes as they are
known on the other side of the
channel, may have been British
since 1204, but they have
never relinquished their French
heritage. The local language,
although no longer widely
spoken, is the French of
medieval Normandy. And the
local people, nicknamed
'donkeys' because of their
proverbial stubbornness, have
certainly clung to their mixed
heritage. 'When you say we're
British, that's not quite
accurate,' explains director
Andrew Courtney, 'because we
have very special status. And
we've had that status since
around 1350. The English and
the French were always
fighting wars then and at some
point the English started
losing. The Channel Islands,
which had been part of
Normandy since the 1 lth
century, got to choose whether
they wanted to revert to
SMUGGLING SUCCESS
This special status was
reconfirmed when the UK
joined the then European
Economie Community (now
the EU) in 1971, a date that
saw the Channel Islands take
off as a financial and banking
centre. 'We're a very
entrepreneurial people,'
Courtney laughs, 'if you go
back into our history you'11
find a lot of buccaneers and
smugglers as well as hard-
working fisherfolk. More
recently, we were very strong
in horticulture, which is still
important economically.
Tourism is also a big earner for
the islands.
But beyond a doubt, the
finance industry is crucial to
our economy; it represents in
excess of 55 percent of GNR'
Yet the fact that this highly
professionalized industry is so
crucial for the island's
economy is also a threat to
future prosperity.
KEEPING REPUTATIONS
Guernsey has a peerless
reputation as a bona fide
Vanessa Loyd
supporting the
team.
France or stay "English".
Some incredibly shrewd
donkey thought: Here's an
opportunity for us. We'11 stay
English, but in return we want
to govern ourselves, set up our
own laws and - here it starts to
get very interesting for private
bankers - our own tax system.'
private banking and offshore
centre, a reputation
Guernseymen are eager to
preserve. 'We are very, very
careful to make sure nothing
happens to upset that because
reputation is hard to win and
easy to lose these days,' says
Courtney.
Guernsey
Paris
Jersey
POPULATION STRAINS
But as already noted, the
island's success is also a
potential threat. 'That's right,'
Courtney confirms. 'What you
have to understand about
Guernsey is that we do not
have the mobility of labour
you need in a highly
professionalized and rapidly
expanding industry. Add to
that the fact that our residency
laws restrict access to the
island quite dramatically and
you will understand our
dilemma. There are only
60,000 people in the island -
that includes our senior
citizens, children, everybody.
Our population has to remain
stable because space is limited.
Now, there are at least 78
banks here, between 30 and 40
accountancy firms, solicitors,
and all of the other disciplines
and specializations you need to
run a solid financial sector.
You will see our problem - at
least the problem we will have
in the next few years if we
don't act.'
PICKING UP PACE
Any first year student of
economics will teil you that
when demand exceeds supply
then prices rise. The greatest
concern ensuing from such a
limited labour pool is that
through increases in costs the
islands will price themselves
out of the market. 'You can
feel that the pace is picking up
here,' he says, 'you see people
moving from one bank to
another for an additional GBP
1,000 a year. So we have to
focus firmly on higher value-
added business and make sure
our people are equipped to
provide first-class service to
people who are prepared to
pay for it.' Courtney admits
training is a pet subject - 'it has
to be on an island like this'. He
is working closely with
Vanessa Loyd to build a
comprehensive training
support program so that
existing staff can continually
grow skills and progress to
more challenging positions.
SINGLE CURRENCY
As we talked, the island was
gearing up for a seminar on
the Euro and how Guernsey
can seize opportunities a single
currency in the rest of Europe
could offer to the shrewd
donkeys currently running the
island. Concludes Ronald van
Beek, who is not a
Guernseyman by birth, but by
adoption, 'if we play our cards
right, the island's truly unique
status in Europe means we
could do something quite
extraordinary in this respect.'
Keep watching this space.
