Jersey Bank Depositors Compensation Board: Appointment of Board

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A decision made on 6 December 2010 regarding the appointment of members to the Jersey Bank Depositors Compensation Board

Decision Reference: MD-E-2010-0198

Decision Summary Title :

Appointment of Members of the Jersey Bank Depositors Compensation Board

Date of Decision Summary:

December 2010

Decision Summary Author:

Director, Finance Industry Development

Decision Summary:

Public or Exempt?

Public

Type of Report:

Oral or Written?

Written

Person Giving

Oral Report:

n/a

Written Report

Title :

Appointment of Members of the Jersey Bank Depositors Compensation Board

Date of Written Report:

December 2010

Written Report Author:

Director, Finance Industry Development

Written Report :

Public or Exempt?

Public

Subject:

Jersey Bank Depositors Compensation Board (“the Board”) - appointment of members.

Decision(s):

The Minister approved a draft report and proposition, having agreed the nomination of the following individuals for appointment as Members of the Board for a period of five years:

Mr Roger Bignell (Chairman)

Mr Frank Dearie

Advocate Simon Howard

Mr George Kean

Mr Paul Leary

Mr Mark Wildman

Reason(s) for Decision:

The Board is established under the Banking Business (Depositors Compensation) (Jersey) Regulations 2009 (“the Regulations”) to administer the Jersey Bank Depositors Compensation Scheme.

Until the Board members are appointed the work of the Board is carried out by the Minister for Economic Development. Members of the Board are appointed by the States on the nomination of the Minister.

Resource Implications:

There are no financial or manpower implications for the States.

Action required:

The Greffier of the States to be requested to arrange for the proposition and report to be lodged au Greffe as soon as possible for debate at the earliest opportunity.

Signature:

Position:

Minister for Economic Development

Date Signed:

Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Jersey Bank Depositors Compensation Board: Appointment of Board

Appointment of Members of the

Jersey Bank Depositors Compensation Board

1. Issue and Recommendation

1.1. The Jersey Bank Depositors Compensation Board (“the Board”) was established under the Banking Business (Depositors Compensation) (Jersey) Regulations 2009 (“the Regulations”) to administer the Jersey Bank Depositors Compensation Scheme.

1.2. Pursuant to Article 10 of the Regulations, Members of the Board are appointed by the States on the nomination of the Minister for Economic Development.

1.3. It is recommended that the Minister for Economic Development (“the Minister”) approves the nomination of the following individuals as Members of the Board for a period of five years:

Mr Roger Bignell (Chairman)

Mr Frank Dearie

Advocate Simon Howard

Mr George Kean

Mr Paul Leary

Mr Mark Wildman

1.4. There are no financial or manpower implications for the States.

2. Background

2.1. The Board was established under the Banking Business (Depositors Compensation) (Jersey) Regulations 2009 to administer the Jersey Bank Depositors Compensation Scheme (“the DCS”).

2.2. The Regulations came into force immediately after the States debate in November 2009.

2.3. Since November 2009, the Minister for Economic Development has carried out the functions of the Board pursuant to Regulation 10(7) while the implementation of the DCS has been progressed.

2.4. The implementation of the DCS has progressed and it is now considered appropriate for the Board to assume its functions.

The Selection Process

2.5. Following an open and transparent selection process, which included advertising in the local press, a Selection Panel comprising senior States officers and a member of the Jersey Appointments Commission (“JAC”), interviewed several candidates.

2.6. The Selection Panel recommended that the Minister nominates the following six candidates as Members of the Board:

Mr Roger Bignell (Chairman)

Mr Frank Dearie

Advocate Simon Howard

Mr George Kean

Mr Paul Leary

Mr Mark Wildman

2.6. The JAC is content with the proposed appointments.

3. The Nominees

Roger Bignell (Chairman)

3.1. Mr Bignell trained as an accountant in the UK Public Sector (specializing in audit) before moving to Jersey in 1979 to take up the post of the States Chief Internal Auditor.

3.2. He moved to the Financial Services Department as Director of Banking and was responsible for the drafting of the Banking Business (Jersey) Law 1991. Mr Bignell chaired the group that produced the first Anti Money Laundering Guidance Notes and was involved in the mutual evaluations of the anti money laundering practices of Cyprus and Malta as part of their applications for membership of the European Union.

3.3. With the creation of the Financial Services Commission in 1998, Mr Bignell had the dual role of the Director of Authorisation and Deputy Registrar of Companies.

3.4. He retired in June 2004, since when he has been involved in activities within the Community including Membership of the Public Accounts Committee (2005 to 2009), Trustee of Jersey Community Savings Trust, Volunteer member of Citizens Advice Bureau, and Committee member of Jersey Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Frank Dearie

3.5. Mr Dearie recently retired as head of tax for Abacus Financial Services Group and private client director with Royal Bank of Canada. He has 35 year’s experience in the tax, trust and wealth management industry in Jersey.

3.6. He holds a number of non-executive positions and is actively involved with several community organisations including: Trustee of the Jersey Homes Trust; Director of Community Savings Limited and trustee of the Community Charitable Trust; member of the States of Jersey Complaints Panel, the Social Security Advisory Council and a Commissioner of Income Tax Appeals.

Simon Howard

3.7. Advocate Howard is qualified as a Jersey advocate and is the principal of Howard Law and Howard Consulting Limited in Jersey. He has over 20 years’ experience in the Channel Islands legal and financial services sectors and is recognised as a leading investment funds and commercial lawyer in Jersey.

3.8. Advocate Howard was formerly a partner for over fifteen years in a leading Jersey law firm and subsequently a consultant to a leading international offshore law firm. He has been actively involved over many years with the development of the regulatory regime for investment funds and the approach to corporate governance for offshore funds.

3.9. He is a member of the Law Society of Jersey, the International Bar Association and STEP.

George Kean

3.10. Mr Kean has 40 year’s experience in the banking sector, having held positions in banks in the UK, Cayman Islands and Gibraltar. He came to Jersey in 1989 with HSBC Banking Group and over the next 20 years held a number of senior positions including Managing Director of HSBC Private Bank and Head of Offshore Islands Europe.

3.11. He was a member of the Group’s Senior Global Trust Committee and a board member of the Group’s Channel Island Private Bank and its Asset and Liability Committee. Mr Kean also represented HSBC on the International Trust Company Association and was a member of the Jersey Banker’s Trust sub-committee.

3.12. Mr Kean is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Scotland and is a Trust and Estate Practitioner.

Paul Leary

3.13. Mr Leary worked for Lloyds TSB Bank for 17 years, undertaking a wide range of roles, before joining the Jersey Financial Services Commission in 2002 as Senior Manager in the Supervision Division, where he was part of the team who managed the 2002 IMF visit.

3.14. Mr Leary moved to BakerPlatt as Director of Advisory Services in 2005, where he designed and delivered courses on Corporate Governance, Compliance Risk Management and Anti-Money Laundering.

3.15. Mr Leary has been Head of Risk for the Bedell Group since 2008 and has developed and implemented an Enterprise Risk Management framework. Mr Leary has an MBA and is an associate of the Chartered Institute of Bankers.

Mark Wildman

3.16. Mr Wildman has had a career of over 30 years in the Finance Industry, working in the City of London, New York and Jersey.

3.17. He worked the International Division of NatWest in the City before coming to Jersey with Morgan Grenfell in 1993 (since when it had become part of Deutsche Bank A.G), where he was Head of Lending. In 2003, he was appointed as a Managing Director, Global Head of Banking, Custody & Investment Services for the Deutsche Bank Offshore Group.

3.18. In 2005 Mr Wildman assisted in establishing the Jersey subsidiary of Active Services (Jersey), a regulatory and compliance consultancy firm. For three years until July 2010, he was a non-executive director of Caversham Fiduciary Services Limited. He left Active in April 2010 to join independent local fiduciary services company, Garfield-Bennett Trust Company, as Director of Risk & Compliance.

4. Recommendation

4.1. It is recommended that the Minister approves the nomination of the following individuals as Members of the Board for a period of five years:

Mr Roger Bignell (Chairman)

Mr Frank Dearie

Advocate Simon Howard

Mr George Kean

Mr Paul Leary

Mr Mark Wildman

DIRECTOR, FINANCE INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT