Offshore, Onshore, Midshore: A Panel Discussion

The speakers of the Long Finance 2014 Spring Conference, Nicholas Shaxson and Richard Hay, discuss the issues that their lectures raised as well as answering questions from the audience. The Panel discussion is chaired by Alderman Professor Michael Mainelli.

With three nearby Crown Dependencies and six overseas territories promoting themselves as ‘international financial centres’, the UK seems to value offshore centres. Yet during current financial crises these havens are easy scapegoats. At the 2011 G20 Summit in Cannes, President Nicolas Sarkozy stated, “We don’t want any more tax havens. Our message is clear, countries that remain tax havens … will be shunned by the international community”. But do these centres add value? And what of onshore havens such as Delaware, Monaco, Luxembourg ... London? This symposium will explore the good, the bad and the ugly – savings, crimes and tax. We will look at how offshore centres do add value, their dangers and how things might evolve to something, perhaps “mid-shore”.