Financial Services Ombudsman: Loan to establish office

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A decision made 4 August 2014:

Decision Reference: MD-E-2014-0075
Decision Summary Title :	Request to provide a temporary loan facility to the Office of the Financial Services Ombudsman (OFSO)		Date of Decision Summary:	29 July 2014
Decision Summary Author:	Strategy Manager		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 :	States funding request 13 July 2014		Date of Written Report:	13 July 2014
Written Report Author:	Strategy Manager		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Exempt 3.2.1(a)(xiv)
Subject: Request to provide a temporary loan facility to the Office of the Financial Services Ombudsman (OFSO) to enable OFSO to facilitate the establishment of OFSO in advance of being able to collect the levy from the industry.
Decision(s): The Minister requested that a loan facility of £200,000 (reduced from £235,000 in the Report) be made available to the Office of the Financial Services Ombudsman (OFSO) to be repaid by March 2016 with interest chargeable at a rate set by States of Jersey Treasury. The purpose of the loan is to fund 50% of OFSO establishment costs and first year operating costs, with the States of Guernsey agreeing to provide a loan facility for the other 50%.
Reason(s) for Decision: In order to allow OFSO to proceed with its establishment and open for complaints handling in a timely way, the Commerce & Employment and Economic Development Departments, on behalf of the OFSO are requesting loans from the States of Guernsey and States of Jersey of 50% each to cash flow the establishment costs and half year operating costs, when OFSO will receive OFSO funding from industry and will be in a position to repay the loans.
Resource Implications: There are no manpower implications for the States. There will be a temporary reduction of the Consolidated Fund (cash balance) of £200,000. There will be an increase of the Consolidated Fund (cash balance) between March 2015 and March 2016 as a result of repayments and interest receipts on the loan.
Action required: Treasury Business Manager to inform the Head of Shareholder Relations and Finance Manager (Treasury Corporate Group) that this decision has been approved.
Signature:		Position: Minister for Economic Development
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):