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 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 …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.