Overseas lenders that do not operate in Jersey in any way, such as UK or Guernsey lenders that do not have a presence or agent in Jersey, will not be required to be registered in Jersey. This means that any recourse a Jersey resident consumer may have against an entity registered overseas will lie with rights the consumer may have under foreign law and regulation. This is different to the Guernsey position, which is understood to require UK lenders to notify the Guernsey Financial Services Commission that they conduct business in Guernsey, as the UK is deemed an equivalent jurisdiction under The Lending, Credit and Finance (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2022, and registration of other foreign lenders. However, Jersey’s proposed approach is consistent with how the JFSC approaches the regulation of other overseas persons in the jurisdiction.
In the case of overseas lenders that have agents in Jersey, the intention is to provide a conditional exemption for the agent from the requirement to register with the JFSC and a limited regulatory regime for the lender.