Banking
and Financial Services
There
are currently some 54 banks established
on the Isle of Man, and although this
figure has fallen slightly over the last
5 years, the calibre and scale of banking
operations has been showing marked improvement.
The Royal Bank of Scotland International,
the Royal Bank of Canada, Coutts (Northern
European HQ) and Merrill Lynch have all
moved to the Isle in the last few years
and NatWest has ring-fenced its offshore
business by moving to the Island.
Deposits
in the year to 31st March 2007 increased
by GBP6.56 billion (16.65%), to GBP45.95
billion,
according to the Financial Supervision
Commission. Over 20 banks had capital
ratios exceeding 20% at the end of March,
2005. (The capital adequacy of Isle of
Man incorporated banks is measured on
a risk-weighted basis in accordance with
the Basel Capital Accord.)
The
Island's banking industry is dominated
by subsidiaries or branches of the main
UK clearing banks and some foreign banks.
The majority of banks in the Isle of Man
are engaged in providing private banking
services to UK expatriates and to foreign
nationals. The services offered often
extend beyond deposit taking to establishing
and administering trusts and managing
the underlying companies and assets held
by those trusts, including investment
management.
The
government announced in July 2001 a 'Financial
Services Ombudsman Scheme' which covers
complaints about financial advice and
products across the range of personal
finance such as banking, credit, insurance
and investments. The scheme is open to
individuals with a financial complaint
against an Isle of Man firm that the firm
has been unable to resolve.
