Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- PART I The past
- PART II The present
- PART III The future
- 13 Some problems ‘Offshore’
- 14 Some problems ‘Onshore’
- 15 Small islands and ‘Offshore’
- 16 Some information on particular centres
- 17 The UK and ‘Offshore’
- 18 The USA and ‘Offshore’
- 19 Can the problems be identified?
- 20 Offshore's Future
- 21 How to assess an ‘Offshore Finance Centre’
- 22 Conclusion
- Appendix 1
- Appendix 2
- Index
13 - Some problems ‘Offshore’
from PART III - The future
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of figures
- List of tables
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- PART I The past
- PART II The present
- PART III The future
- 13 Some problems ‘Offshore’
- 14 Some problems ‘Onshore’
- 15 Small islands and ‘Offshore’
- 16 Some information on particular centres
- 17 The UK and ‘Offshore’
- 18 The USA and ‘Offshore’
- 19 Can the problems be identified?
- 20 Offshore's Future
- 21 How to assess an ‘Offshore Finance Centre’
- 22 Conclusion
- Appendix 1
- Appendix 2
- Index
Summary
Regulatory functions represent an anomaly in the context of customer-driven government.
Introduction
Reference was made in the opening chapter to the pejorative sense in which the word ‘Offshore’ is often used. This chapter explores some of the reasons why this might be the case.
Background
At the outset, it is perhaps pertinent to emphasise that, on the face of it, there is no reason why the ‘Offshore’ environment should be any more exposed to any form of wrongful activity than the ‘Onshore’ environment. Analysis of the products offered in both environments indicates that by and large the same types of products and services are offered in both places. Further, a comparison of the regulatory procedures applied ‘Offshore’ and ‘Onshore’ indicates that, while not identical in practice, they are similar in principle. The previous chapters refer. All other things being equal, there is no reason on the face of it why there should be more problems ‘Offshore’ than ‘Onshore’ – unless other variables apply.
Despite all this, practitioners ‘Offshore’ frequently say that, when problems arise ‘Offshore’, they seem to attract substantial attention – perhaps even more attention than they would have received if the problems had occurred ‘Onshore’. While this attention (and by extension the criticism that goes with it) has been justified some of the time, practitioners affirm that it has not been appropriate in all circumstances.
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- Offshore Finance , pp. 333 - 344Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006