A British Offshore Banking Haven Faces an Identity Crisis: Essay

To the casual visitor, little suggests that Jersey — the small island just off the northern coast of France — is one of the world’s leading offshore financial centers. You might clock billboards in the airport arrivals hall advertising trust structuring and international legal services, or notice the strikingly high concentration of top-end jewelers on King Street, the island’s main shopping parade. But there are no glass-and-steel towers in St. Helier, Jersey’s capital, no Ferraris burning up the country lanes, no six-star hotels, and just the one Michelin-starred restaurant. The look and feel is that of provincial England circa ...