Guernsey Finance 'focussed on moving forward'

The body which promotes Guernsey's finance industry is focussed on "moving forward" after disappointing and challenging period which led to the resignation of its previous leader, its current boss says.

Guernsey Finance CEO Barnaby Molloy told about 200 people at its 2026 industry update that the end of 2025 saw "intense scrutiny" of the organisation.

But he added it had "responded well" and commissioned an independent investigation which found no issues with culture.

At the update, Molloy praised a new finance strategy which is set to be unveiled in March, and said there was "more opportunity than ever had before" in the sector.

"I'm really excited, it feels positive," said Molloy following the briefing.

At Beau Sejour, Deputy Andrew Niles gave an overview of the a new strategy for the finance industry, which has been worked up by consultants Oliver Wyman.

The work has cost £559,300, with 62.5% of that being met by the States and the rest paid for by industry.

Niles said the industry could not afford to "stand still" and had held "14 round tables [meetings] across all the major sectors, in addition to bilateral and group interviews and discussions" to inform the strategy.

Some members of the Committee for Economic Development, which commissioned the project, voted against sanctioning the work.

Niles told the audience: "The strategy is focused on driving growth, increasing incomes, and strengthening Guernsey's long-term economic resilience.

"In March, we will publish a public-facing summary of the recommendations and, as part of that, we will publish clear goals and ambitions for growth so that we can be sure that the work that we've invested in will deliver measurable financial growth outcomes for the island."

Addressing the incident at the end of last year which led to the departure of two members of staff, Molloy said: "We've said everything that we need to about last year. Now we're looking forward.

"If you speak to people in the room today, that voice is positive."

Few details have been made public about the situation.

Molloy pushed back on criticism that the organisation's reputation had been damaged: "Reputation is built on all of our conversations, and collectively we've got an incredibly strong voice."

He went on to focus on the opportunities in the industry this year, saying: "The industry has never felt more galvanised. With the jurisdictional strategy work we're doing, we've got more opportunity than we've ever had before."

During his address to the industry, Molloy said he recognised that, as a promotional body, it was difficult to measure key performance indicators for the firm, but he stressed Guernsey Finance was delivering value for taxpayer money.

"We recognise the industry feedback that some of our KPIs [key performance indicators] need to be sharper and more focused.

"As a promotional agency, KPIs are tricky, but that doesn't mean they don't need to evolve.

"Every penny matters, and that's why we're so focused on return on investment."

The States of Guernsey provides a grant of around £1m each year to fund Guernsey Finance and, in recent years, has paid the group £500,000 to further support its work.

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