The chief executive of Credit Suisse in Gibraltar recently spoke about the European jurisdiction and how he looks forward to not having to argue its merits so much in the future.

The chief executive of Credit Suisse in Gibraltar
plans for the day when he devotes all his time to telling potential customers of
the benefits of banking with his firm rather than laying out the case for
putting money into this British overseas territory.

The rock of Gibraltar, which has been a UK possession since
1704 – a cause of continuing friction with neighbouring Spain – is seeking to
flex its muscles in the battle between international financial centres, pitting
itself against the likes of Malta, another Mediterranean nation which is in the
European Union. EU membership means Gibraltar
will not face hurdles against non-EU states when it comes to any rules
governing areas such as alternative investments.

As far as Kerry Blight, chief executive of Credit Suisse
Gibraltar, is concerned, Gibraltar has plenty
to offer as a jurisdiction and notes that the government of the tiny
jurisdiction is putting more effort into promoting the place.

In five or ten years’ time, Blight hopes, the benefits of
doing business in this peninsular will no longer have to be spelled out as much
as now.

“My
hope is that in that time, the new [Gibraltar] government roles will help grow
our profile sufficiently that I spend more time explaining what Credit Suisse
has to offer rather than what Gibraltar
is all about,” he told this publication in an interview.

Gibraltar
argues it stands to benefit from a new Luxembourg law tightening oversight
of funds sold to sophisticated private investors and institutions. In March
this year, the Luxembourg
parliament passed a law amending existing legislation from 2007 on specialised
investment funds, or SIFs. As a result, a SIF cannot be launched without
getting clearance from the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, the
local regulator. This will make fund launches much slower, giving an edge to
Gibraltar-based funds also pitched at sophisticated clients, lawyers say.

Experience

Blight,
who joined the Zurich-headquartered bank two years ago, having previously
worked at Royal Bank of Scotland,
has a long-standing involvement with Gibraltar.
He has been chairman of the Gibraltar Finance Centre Council for the last three
years having retired from the role in October 2012.

“Our approach is based on the view
that Gibraltar is
developing as a jurisdiction. It [Credit Suisse] hasn’t had the slice of the
cake that it should have had, really, for a bank of this size and its breadth
and quality of services. We want to change that,” he said.

“Gibraltar is moving from being an offshore
centre to being an onshore one. Business is being built around a flight to
quality and to added value. You can notice, for example, a number of insurance
companies coming into Gibraltar so they can passport
their services around Europe,” he said.

History and present day

Credit
Suisse is hardly a novice here: it has been active in Gibraltar
for 25 years, (opening a subsidiary on 15 May1987). Some 42 people work at the
bank in Gibraltar. 

The
firm continues to expand. As reported recently, Credit Suisse’s markets group
for the Channel Islands, Gibraltar and Singapore
appointed Marvin Cartwright as head of private banking, Gibraltar.

“We are investing in this
jurisdiction. Marvin’s recruitment is an example of that,” Blight said. “We
have looked at the local market and seen the range of talent and we have gone
out to get it.”

The
bank in Gibraltar has
taken on four senior staff to develop the business in the last 12 months. “Credit Suisse as a whole has bought
into this [Gibraltar story]…it agrees that Gibraltar can make a valuable
contribution.

So what does Credit Suisse do on
“the rock”?

For
example, it provides wealth management advisory and discretionary services.

“The benefit to what we do is that
we have face to face contact with our clients. Many of our clients live in Gibraltar or winter in Spain. We are also a good choice
for UK
residents non-dom
clients,” he said.

Fund rules

As already mentioned, adjustments to
rules governing what types of funds can be bought and sold in the EU can work
to Gibraltar’s advantage, Blight said, because of the jurisdiction’s membership
of the European bloc.

For example, the Alternative
Investment Fund Managers Directive, which is an EU move to tighten oversight on
hedge funds and private equity funds, among others, could potentially put funds
not registered in the EU at a disadvantage, some fear. So being in the EU,
whatever other problems might be associated with it, is arguably positive for
IFCs such as Gibraltar, Luxembourg, Ireland
and Malta.

“Having
a presence within the EU is becoming extremely important for Alternative
Investment Fund managers and the UCITS Managers, and Gibraltar
is gearing up to become a competitive jurisdiction within the EU for this type
of business,” Blight said.

Blight
noted that the Gibraltar
government, in a bid to promote the financial services sector more
aggressively, has hired experienced people for that role, focusing on three
main areas: insurance, funds and private client.