Board of Commissioners Conflict of Interest Policy

Summary

This is the Jersey Financial Services Commission's internal policy governing how members of its Board of Commissioners must identify, disclose and manage conflicts of interest. It supplements statutory disclosure rules under the Financial Services Commission (Jersey) Law 1998 and applies specifically to Commissioners, though similar rules apply to JFSC employees under a separate policy. Compliance is compulsory and breaches may result in removal from the role.

• Disclosure: Commissioners must disclose conflicts of interest, including mandatory disclosures (e.g. relationships with close family, share dealing, financial arrangements with supervised firms) and other conflicts that arise unpredictably, on the Register of Interests.
• Conflict management process: A Commissioner must alert the Chair (or Deputy Chair/Director General if the Chair is conflicted or unavailable) in advance of any conflict, including before entering transactions or new roles that may create a conflict; management measures include recusal, segregation of duties, disclosure to conflicted parties, or standing down from duties.
• Personal financial transactions: Commissioners must obtain the Chair's written approval before dealing or trading in securities of JFSC-regulated entities; certain transactions, such as acquiring or disposing of securities in a JFSC-supervised firm, are prohibited outright.
• New external roles: Commissioners taking on new non-executive directorships, partnerships, consultancies or similar roles must notify the Commission Secretary in advance; the Chair decides whether the role is compatible, incompatible, or compatible subject to conflict management measures, following a set process set out in the Appendix.
• Gifts and hospitality: Commissioners must not accept gifts, rewards or benefits of a frequency, nature or value that would be, or appear to be, improper, and must follow the policy's gifts and hospitality process.
• Record keeping and documentation: Decisions on how conflicts are handled must be documented and publicly defensible, and records must be kept in accordance with the policy.

The policy also includes a Code of Conduct declaration to be signed by Commissioners and an Appendix setting out the detailed process for approving new external roles, including a right of reply for the Commissioner before a final decision is made.

Key obligations

• New Commissioners must declare conflicts of interest when they join the JFSC and keep disclosures up to date.
• An undisclosed conflict must be disclosed within three business days, or before the Commissioner is involved in any relevant decision-making, whichever is sooner.
• Commissioners must alert the Chair (or Deputy Chair) in advance of any known or potential conflict, including before entering into a transaction or new role that may create one.
• Commissioners must seek and obtain the Chair's written approval before entering into personal financial dealing or trading transactions involving JFSC-regulated entities, and must not begin dealing before approval is given.
• Commissioners must not acquire or dispose of securities or security-like instruments (including digital assets) in a firm supervised by the JFSC.
• Commissioners must notify the Commission Secretary before taking on a new non-executive directorship, partnership, consultancy or similar role.
• A Commissioner given the Chair's initial opinion that a new role is incompatible or requires unmitigated conflict measures has twenty-one days to reply before the Chair makes a final decision.
• Commissioners must not accept gifts, rewards or hospitality of a value or frequency that would be, or appear to be, improper.
• Decisions on managing conflicts must be documented and be publicly defensible.
• Commissioners must sign the Code of Conduct declaration agreeing to abide by the Conflicts of Interest Policy.

Applies to

Board of Commissioners (Commissioners of the JFSC), JFSC employees (by reference to the equivalent employee conflicts policy)

Deadlines

• within three business days: An unregistered conflict of interest must be disclosed within three business days, or before the Commissioner is involved in any relevant decision-making, whichever is sooner.
• twenty-one days: A Commissioner has twenty-one days to reply to the Chair's initial opinion that a proposed new external role is incompatible with continuing as a Commissioner or requires unagreed conflict-mitigation measures.