US ‘greed’ not a feature here
Monday 29th September 2008, 3:00PM BST.
JERSEY finance does not indulge in the ‘unpleasant, selfish human greed’ seen in the American industry, according to the head of the Island’s church.
The Dean of Jersey, the Very Rev Bob Key, has agreed with the two most senior clerics in the Church of England, who last week attacked bankers and traders responsible for the recent financial crisis.
Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams called for fresh scrutiny and regulation of the financial world and the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, branded the traders who cashed in on falling HBOS share prices as ‘bank robbers’.
But Mr Key said that Jersey had community values and a finance industry that did not show the same ‘selfish greed’ seen abroad. ‘It seems to me that the root of a lot of the problems in America that gave birth to the crisis that we see again is pretty unpleasant, selfish human greed and I don’t think that is the way Jersey usually does things,’ he said. ‘I would join with the archbishops and say that kind of greed doesn’t actually help the finance industry in the long run and I am sure the Jersey finance industry isn’t like that. Jersey has values about the community which goes against that.’
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Obviously the Dean has not been following closely the affairs of Northern Rock and Granite Finance Holdings.
The latter was set up to hold the securitised mortgages of the bank’s customers.
A third party charity was named as a beneficiary of the trust without even seeking its consent.
Similarly there are people trying to retrieve money that is held in or has passed through the island on its trips around the world, notably the Brunei Royal family.
Maybe the Dean should keep away from commenting on the finance industry here or abroad, he seems to know very little about it!
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Jersey firms were happy to set up and administer these securitisation structures that have contributed to the chaos. The Dean of Jersey is somewhat naive of the type of business our finance industry has chased the last ten years to keep that good old fee income increasing.
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Seriously. What a load of utter (lets be polite) rubbish. Jersey has one of the most selfish, greedy, blinkered, unjust societies on the planet. Surely The Waterfront is testiment to this fact. I speak as a someone who grew up in the Island and left to live in the US where there is more community spirit and civic pride in my street than the whole of Jersey put together. Glass houses Mr Key, glass houses!
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Is he really having a laugh ?He would do better to concentrate on saving souls or giving some of his church’s money to the poor people whose pension is due right now and will end up with diddly squat. When we all know that in ALL thoose so called tax havens the rules are written by the very banks who set up shop in them,and for a fee the islands like it or not make money from every deal therefor making the country that the money comes from poorer.
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Most Jersey banks and finance companys are branches of larger outside organisations.
Just how long does the Dean think a Jersey operation would last if it ignored the instructions of the parent bank?
The staff who work in the banks have community values, a lot of them are involved in charity work etc.
But in their working lives they have to sell stock short, loan out money etc in accordance with a policy decided outside the island.
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The vast majority of Jersey is all about greed and it affects such a large number of islanders. You only need to look at the over inflated house prices, extortionate rents and the large ever increasing gap between the greedy wealthy and the struggling masses to see this ! No disrespect meant, but open your eyes Dean.
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There is only one type of human greed and that is the selfish and very unpleasant type
It is the same everywhere
Wherever there is “loads of money” there is human greed and I am afraid Jersey is no exception
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sorry dean, l do not sgree.
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Wake up and smell the roses.
Jersey is all about greed!!! That’s what the Finance Industry is all about…making more money…and robbing the poor.
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is that a joke !? more greedy snobs here in jersey than anywhere i have seen.
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This article has me in stitches.
Jersey has the greediest people i have ever met.
You could rant on forever at how the ordinary man in the street is ripped of everyday and to suggest otherwise is nothing short of a joke.
Even the basics like milk and bread yes the basics are extortionate.
According to those in charge the dairy industry will not survive without the high prices.
Well thats fine by me,bring the milk in from France at about 50 pence a litre.
My loyalty wont stretch to these outrageous prices.
I guess thats why some of us at least pray to the good lord every night for our daily bread!!
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well well mr keys, from a man of the cloth whose bosses are probably the richest organisation in the world, and pay no tax, you remind me of a passage from the bible.
it’s from the book of Job, “the DEVIL says to Job, doth Job fear god for nought, has though not put a hedge about him on all four sides, and blessed the work of his hand, and his posessions in the world are many”.
Jersey is the most greedy, evil and corrupt place in the purported civilized world. so you see mr keys, there are none as blind as the sighted, that refuse to open their own eyes !!!!?
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If you believe that then you’ll believe anything! Banking like most companies is about greed and offshore banking is about the preservation and growth of generally already wealthy organisations/persons your average person cannot afford an investment manager and cannot qualify for a Private bank account so naive would be a gross understatement.
And Jean my heart bleeds for those poor bankers being led down the garden path by their parent companies and I’m sure they give their bonuses (gained from these actions) to charity!!
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I would say take the 5/6/7 figure bonuses back before raiding the taxpayers pot but apparently that’s not fair. Mind you it was an investment manager that said that to me. He could of course have had his mortgage well paid off by now, it was his choice to not do this.
Sorry, didn’t think it worth commenting on the article itself!
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