Flying colours

‘The offshore world is tired of being the world’s whipping boy,’ says John Collis, chairman of Conyers Dill & Pearman. ‘Most of the negative publicity fired at offshore markets is simply wrong, and we now have a committed agenda to getting the story straight.’

The International Financial Centres (IFC) Forum began with a formal discussion between a number of organisations and individuals that are recognised as thought-leaders in international finance. Ultimately, its objective is to provide authoritative and balanced information on the positive role of IFCs in the global economy and to present a more co-ordinated response to the political rhetoric aimed at offshore financial centres (OFCs), so that policymakers fully understand the potential consequences of restricting their activities. ‘We always understood the contribution we made to the global economy,’ says Robert Shepherd, managing partner of Ozannes, ‘but now we can point to empirical research.’

The offshore legal community certainly feels positive about this collaborative initiative, ultimately hoping that the Forum will enable a more levelled debate through its dissemination of objectively assessed research and information. The offshore lawyers want to show that it’s not all bad in the offshore world, as opposed to the negative way in which these markets are frequently portrayed; often by those who do not actually have the research and facts to back up their comments, but who have recognised what a crowd pleaser beating up the offshore world has become. ‘If you are under attack, then it is reasonable that you get together to defend yourselves,’ Shepherd says.

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