Offshore Finance Centres and Rapid Complex Constant Change

From 1998 Offshore Finance Centres (OFCs) faced complex, overlapping initiatives from the OECD, IMF, FATF and EU. This paper contends that OFCs faced unprecedented Rapid Complex Constant Change (RC3) which had significant impacts on their host governments. The ‘four spaces’ concept – regulatory, fiscal, secrecy and political space – is used to analyse RC3. Two aspects are examined: first, the impact of RC3 on host governments; and, second, the degree of the hosts’ control over the industry. A Jersey case study illustrates the contrast between official narratives of

proactive government and alternative narratives of the OFC being driven by the international banks. Finally, lessons are suggested for host governments.