The governments of a few offshore licensing jurisdictions are unlikely to be pleased with their rankings as determined by the Working Group on Offshore Financial Centres. A report released in April and endorsed in March by the Financial Stability Forum grouped jurisdictions considered to have significant financial offshore activities into three categories reflecting their perceived quality of supervision and perceived degree of cooperation.
A press release announcing these categories cautioned, "It is important to stress that the categorisation of OFCs into these three groupings is based on responses of OFC supervisors and the impressions of a wide range of onshore supervisors at a particular point in time."
"The categorisation does not constitute judgements about any jurisdiction's adherence to international standards, and inclusion in a particular group does not imply that such a categorisation applies to all
sectors of the financial system within an OFC."
Group I
Hong Kong SAR, Luxembourg, Singapore, and Switzerland. (These are generally perceived as having legal infrastructures, and supervisory practices, and/or a level of resources devoted to supervision and
cooperation relative to the size of their financial activities, and/or a level of cooperation that are largely of a good quality and better than in other OFCs.) Dublin (Ireland), Guernsey, Isle of Man and Jersey are also
generally viewed in the same light, with an admonition to continue improving the quality of supervision and cooperation.
Group II
Andorra, Bahrain, Barbados, Bermuda, Gibraltar, Labuan (Malaysia), Macua SAR, Malta and Monaco. (This category is generally perceived as having legal infrastructures and supervisory practices, and/or a level of resources devoted to supervision and cooperation relative to the size of their financial activities, and/or a level of cooperation that are largely of a higher quality than Group III, but lower than Group II.)
Group III
Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Nauru, Netherlands Antilles, Niue, Panama, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, and Vanuatu. (This category is considered to have the least amount of legal infrastructures and supervisory practices, and/or a level of resources devoted to supervision and
cooperation relative to the size of their financial activities, and/or a level of cooperation.)