Finance Centre

As the only British international financial centre within the EU, Gibraltar has a common law framework, a highly-educated workforce, and UK-trained professionals. It is renowned as one of the best-regulated finance centres in the world, and as such, has been held out as a benchmark jurisdiction by both the former UK Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, and by Andrew Edwards in his Review of regulation in the Crown Dependencies.

The Government established a Finance Centre office in 1997 in order to give a further boost to financial services, an important sector of the Gibraltar economy. The Finance Centre is charged with the marketing and promotion of financial services, input into strategic planning including the various international initiatives, product development, and liaison with the private sector and the regulator.

A Deposit Guarantee Scheme came into effect in 1999 and an Investor Compensation Scheme followed in 2003. As part of the European Union, Gibraltar implements all relevant EU directives, and the Financial Services Commission, established in 1989 as an independent statutory body, goes further by matching UK standards in financial regulation and supervision.

The Finance Centre acts as the initial point of contact for new financial services businesses wishing to establish a presence on the Rock. One important development to further the concept of a ‘one-stop shop’ for financial services was the move to adjacent offices in 1999 of the Tax Licensing Unit, which is responsible for issuing certificates to exempt companies and qualifying individuals.

For further information please contact:

Government of Gibraltar Finance Centre
Suite 761, Europort Gibraltar
(+ 350) 200 50011	(+ 350) 200 51818
info@financecentre.gov.gi