Following a three-day JEP expose Ben Shenton shares his own thoughts and experiences on the JFSC.

Following last week’s series of investigations by the JEP on the ‘bullying culture’ of the JFSC, Ben Shenton shares his own thoughts and experiences on being on the receiving end of the financial regulator.

A FEW years ago, I was travelling as a passenger in a car which was pulled over by the police. The driver had not realised that one of her rear lights was not working, a genuine and somewhat minor error. I doubt anyone checks all their lights before they set off on every journey and, while most cars now have a warning light on the dashboard, this is not always the case.

The driver is a very honest person and someone who would be horrified at the thought of breaking any law.

There were two police officers attending. The woman PC, let’s call her PC Respect, was polite, understood the faulty bulb was an oversight rather than a serious criminal event, and tried to put the driver at ease.

As the driver had admitted that she had had a tiny sip of champagne earlier in the day she was breathalysed, and PC Respect made sure she felt as comfortable as possible. As the alcohol consumption was tiny nothing registered and, after promising she would get the faulty bulb replaced, she was allowed to head home.

The other PC was a young man who obviously enjoyed the power he now possessed, and he certainly wanted us to know that he could make life difficult. His puffed-up attitude – in the past we would have referred to these misguided individuals as “little Hitlers” – and disagreeable manner, upset one of the other passengers who voiced his objection to the male PC’s high-handed and somewhat aggressive manner.

Fortunately, matters did not escalate as the passenger backed down, worried about being arrested.

Let’s call this policeman PC Bully.

During the incident I just sat there, anonymous, observing the behaviour of those entrusted to uphold the law.

There is probably a psychological reason why people who abuse their power act like this. My mum would always say it was as a result of late potty training, so perhaps you should consider this in future if ever confronted by a bully.

I had absolutely no respect for this individual, in fact I wanted to punch his lights out (not that I would under any circumstances, but even in woke 2024 you can use this phrase to illustrate the anger he provoked).

We are all human, sometimes we make mistakes. In fact, I think his parents made a big one, so don’t be a bully and criminalise genuine errors.

The JEP has recently run an exposé on the JFSC, and I certainly share the concerns raised – especially as there are rumours of a large and very important institution leaving Jersey due to the poor working relationship with them.

I have, personally, been regulated by the JFSC since their formation and I can say that the vast majority of their employees act like PC Respect. They are very professional, very likeable individuals, operating in a very difficult environment.

However, on the one occasion I did require their advice, as a result of something they had implemented and agap in their guidance, they went missing.

All my correspondence went unanswered, which is very rude, very unhelpful and very unprofessional (and unethical).

This attitude stems from the top of the organisation – put up the shutters as you do not serve the people you regulate, and act like PC Bully.

The JFSC does have a major problem, and its relationship with the industry has now deteriorated to dangerous levels. I say dangerous levels because they appear ignorant of the level of criticism they receive behind their backs.

Human nature dictates that you don’t criticise the JFSC to their face unless you are incredibly sure of your position, or want trouble in the future, or have decided to exit the finance industry.

I come under category one, as I always try to ensure my articles are factual and evidence-based. Someone recently said to me that the biggest dangers to the long term prosperity of Jersey are “the JFSC and Planning” – I could not disagree.

At an executive level, the JFSC have a tendency to operate like PC Bully, it is like a board of directors who don’t understand their role. The culture is too interested in the detail, and catching people out on minutiae, rather than the bigger picture.

They try to criminalise genuine mistakes, fail to explain ambiguous regulations leaving the industry bewildered, take no consideration of the economic impact of their policies, and tell the industry to be open and honest while themselves being closed and secretive.

I wrote last week about how they could make strides on cutting down benefit fraud – it will be interesting to see if they take action.

I’m told the JFSC data breaches were far more serious than what was disclosed, and that data was lost, but we will never know.

God help the management of a regulated business that was run so badly in terms of data security as the JFSC is.

How can you respect anyone with a “don’t do as I do, do as I say” attitude? None of the commissioners has long term experience working for a JFSC regulated entity operating within the local finance industry, and none appears to have done anything to address the weaknesses of the organisation.

Sadly, nothing will happen as a result of the JEP investigation, the culture of “abuse of power” is like a cancer in Jersey’s public sector (and public bodies) and all the “bullies” tend to stick together (I’ll be picking up on this theme next week).

My advice to anyone working in a JFSC-regulated entity is identical to the advice I’d give to someone living under a dictatorial regime – keep your head down, suck up, smile and don’t get on their radar.

The stance of the JFSC is that they are the regulator and you should be subservient to them, not question them – and you must do as you are told (but don’t ask them any legitimate questions as they won’t reply).

They have forced individuals to leave the Island, they have forced banks to leave the Island against the best interests of the Jersey economy, and they have closed many companies that provided employment.

In Jersey, people who abuse power are generally protected and fail to change. In fact, they often get worse, unmonitored by a barely-functioning political system.

• Ben Shenton is a senior investment director. He is a former politician, Senator, who held positions such as minister, chair of Public Accounts Committee, and chair of Scrutiny. He also assists a number local charities on an honorary basis, and can be a bit gobby.

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