Feedback on consultation No. 3 2026 – amendments to the Civil Financial Penalties Methodology for Registered Persons

Summary

This is the JFSC's feedback paper on Consultation No. 3 2026, which proposed amendments to the Civil Financial Penalties Methodology used to calculate civil financial penalties against registered persons. It summarises the ten substantive responses received, the JFSC's responses to key themes, and the final changes made to the methodology before publication.

The consultation was prompted mainly by the Financial Services Commission (Financial Penalties) (Jersey) Amendment Order 2026, which reintroduced monetary caps for Bands 1, 2 and 2A. The JFSC also used the consultation to refine guidance on several steps of the methodology based on operational experience.

• Statutory caps: Step 1 will be calculated using the turnover based reference amount for the relevant band, with the statutory maximum penalty (including any applicable monetary cap) applied only at Step 9.
• Step 1 seriousness wording: Original seriousness terminology retained; wording on single contraventions clarified to confirm it does not lower the enforcement threshold.
• Step 2 knowledge: Clarified how JFSC guidance, feedback papers and public statements may be relevant to assessing what a registered person knew or ought to have known, with emphasis on reasonable connection and relevance.
• Steps 3 and 4: Clarified treatment of voluntary reporting (including staged and follow up disclosures) and rectification/prevention of recurrence (including proportionate review, challenge or assurance).
• Step 5 adjustment range: The existing plus or minus 50 percent adjustment range has been retained, rather than reducing it to plus or minus 25 percent as originally proposed.
• Step 7 consistency check: Clarified as a check against penalties imposed by the JFSC in other relevant and reasonably comparable cases.
• Step 11 guiding principle: Confirmed inclusion of a guiding principle requiring regard to the best economic interests of Jersey, including public interest and jurisdiction level considerations.
• Step 13 settlement discounts: Clarified how settlement discounts may be applied in practice, including that the maximum available discount within a stage is not applied automatically.
• Worked example: An updated worked example of a penalty calculation is retained within the methodology.

The revised methodology applies to registered persons only; a separate methodology for natural persons will be considered in due course. The JFSC states it will keep the methodology under review in light of operational experience, legislative change and stakeholder feedback.

Applies to

registered persons (as defined in Article 1 of the Financial Services Commission (Jersey) Law 1998), banking registered persons under the Banking Business (Jersey) Law 1991, insurance permit holders under the Insurance Business (Jersey) Law 1996 (other than Category A permit holders), registered persons under the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998 (excluding certain general insurance mediation classes), service providers under the Alternative Investment Funds (Jersey) Regulations 2012, supervised persons under the Proceeds of Crime (Supervisory Bodies) (Jersey) Law 2008, certificate holders under the Collective Investment Funds (Jersey) Law 1988

Deadlines

• 19 June 2026: The revised Civil Financial Penalties Methodology for Registered Persons, published alongside this feedback paper, takes effect from this date.