Jersey Financial Services Commission: Appointment of Chairman

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A decision made 15 May 2014:

Decision reference: MD-C-2014-0096
Decision Summary Title :	Appointment of the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Jersey Financial Services Commission		Date of Decision Summary:	14th May 2014
Decision Summary Author:	Policy & Research Officer		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	N/A
Written Report Title :	Appointment of the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Jersey Financial Services Commission		Date of Written Report:	N/A
Written Report Author:	N/A		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Appointment of the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Jersey Financial Services Commission
Decision(s): The Chief Minister agreed the nomination of Lord Eatwell for appointment as Chairman of the Jersey Financial Services Commission with effect from 17th June 2014. The Chief Minister approved the proposition and report and decided that these should be lodged au Greffe for debate on 17th June 2014.
Reason(s) for Decision: The Chief Minister approved the Report and Proposition recommending Lord Eatwell, who is currently serving a term as a Commissioner, be appointed by the States of Jersey to be the Chairman of the Jersey Financial Services Commission, with effect from 17th June 2014 until 21st April 2020. THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion – (a) in pursuance of Article 3(2)(a) of the Financial Services Commission (Jersey) Law 1998 to extend the appointment of Lord Eatwell as a Commissioner of the Jersey Financial Services Commission with effect from 21 April 2015 until 21 April 2020. (b) in pursuance of Article 3(2)(b) of the Financial Services Commission (Jersey) Law 1998 to appoint Lord Eatwell as Chairman of the Jersey Financial Services Commission with effect from 17th June 2014 until 21 April 2020.
Resource Implications: There are no resource or manpower implications arising from this decision
Action required: Report and Proposition to be forwarded to the Greffier of the States asking him to arrange for them to be lodged “au Greffe” for consideration by the States on 17th June 2014.
Signature:		Position: Chief Minister
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Jersey Financial Services Commission: Board of Commissioners: Chairman: Appointment

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion –

(a) in pursuance of Article 3(2)(a) of the Financial Services Commission (Jersey) Law 1998 to extend the appointment of Lord Eatwell as a Commissioner of the Jersey Financial Services Commission with effect from 21 April 2015 until 21 April 2020.

(b) in pursuance of Article 3(2)(b) of the Financial Services Commission (Jersey) Law 1998 to appoint Lord Eatwell as Chairman of the Jersey Financial Services Commission with effect from 17th June 2014 until 21 April 2020.

CHIEF MINISTER

REPORT

The appointment of the Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Jersey Financial Services Commission is dealt with in Article 3 of the Financial Services Commission (Jersey) Law 1998 (the “Law”).

Paragraph (1) of Article 3 reads as follows –

“(1) The Commission shall consist of –

(a) a Chairman; and

(b) not less than 6 other Commissioners.”

Paragraph (2) reads as follows –

“(2) The States shall appoint –

(a) the Commissioners from persons nominated by the Minister; and

(b) a Commissioner nominated by the Minister to be Chairman of the Commission,

and the appointments shall be debated in camera.”

The Chief Minister wishes to nominate the following person, who is currently serving a term as a Commissioner, for appointment by the States of Jersey to be Chairman of the Jersey Financial Services Commission:

Aged 69, Lord Eatwell is currently Professor of Financial Policy at the University of Cambridge and, for a number of years, his work has focussed on issues of financial regulation. He leads a work stream within the Centre for Financial Analysis and Policy (CFAP, a research centre he directs) on financial regulatory issues.

In 1998, Lord Eatwell played a pivotal role in analysing the problem of systemic risk in financial markets, which led in due course to the creation of the Financial Stability Forum (now the Financial Stability Board).

In 1997 Lord Eatwell was nominated by the Board of LIFFE as a Director and Independent Member of the Board of the Securities and Futures Authority (the “SFA”), a role in which he served until 2002. Whilst a member of the Board of the SFA, he served on the Enforcement Committee and the Capital Committee (deputy chairman). He was also a member of the Wind-up Committee of the SFA, dealing with a wide range of residual regulatory matters from 2001 to mid-2002.

In December 2001, Lord Eatwell joined the Regulatory Decisions Committee of the Financial Services Authority, serving until 2006.

In addition to this work as a regulator, Lord Eatwell has acted as an adviser on regulatory matters to the Bank for International Settlements, the Banking Committee of the US Senate, the European Parliament and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

Lord Eatwell’s current term as a Commissioner expires on the 21 April 2015. It is proposed that this be extended for a second five year term to expire on the 21 April 2020. It is further proposed that the appointment of Lord Eatwell as Chairman would have effect from 17th June 2014 until 21 April 2020 to be coterminous with the completion of his second five year term as a Commissioner.

The Jersey Appointments Commission has confirmed that the recruitment process for the position of Chairman has met its requirements for the openness of competition, impartiality , equality and selection based on merit.

Lord Eatwell has indicated that he views his role as Chairman as including –

ensuring an ongoing successful and fruitful relationship between the Commission and Government. .
sending a strong message to the industry of a commitment to drive the Commission forward to meet the challenges the industry faces, and establishing relationships with key industry figures to assist in understanding issues and delivering change improvements.
strengthening the board of commissioners.
improving the strategic aspect of the board’s role in providing a positive contribution to the growth of the industry. .
being a strong off island advocate of Jersey’s industry particularly in the City of London
being generally committed to a change process in response to a dynamic developing business and regulatory environment.

Financial and Manpower implications

There are no implications expected for the financial and manpower resources of the States arising from this appointment.

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