The Gibraltar Financial Services Industry

Gibraltar's burgeoning financial services sector dates back to the enactment of the Companies (Taxation and Concessions) Ordinance in 1967, which made provision for a special tax regime for international business. The industry has made great strides since its early days, and now includes a broad spectrum of professional services, ranging from private banking to insurance management.

Gibraltar is a unique jurisdiction for the promotion and development of financial services. It has a common law legal system, highly-developed professional infrastructure, first-class regulation and access to the EU single market in financial services.

In order to facilitate the development of the sector, and launch it into the top flight of jurisdictions, the Gibraltar Finance Centre (GFC) Division was established within the Department of Trade and Industry in 1997. GFC is the centre for all activities involving the promotion and strategic planning of the financial services sector in Gibraltar. It should be noted, however, that GFC is not responsible for regulation. This is the remit of the Financial Services Commission, established in 1989 as an independent statutory body.

Gibraltar's financial services industry is constantly evolving. Recent trends include the establishment of a number of portfolio managers, the commencement of direct trading on Eurex, the German/Swiss financial futures exchange, and the promotion of Gibraltar as a domicile for securitisation.

Gibraltar’s financial services are regulated to the highest standards. As part of the European Union, Gibraltar implements all relevant EU directives, but the Financial Services Commission goes further by regulating the industry to UK standards.

For full details please visit www.fsc.gi.