Industry update

Changes to Control of Borrowing Order to streamline regulation

As part of the wider Competitiveness Programme, the Government of Jersey and the JFSC are progressing a series of measures to streamline regulatory processes and reduce unnecessary administrative burden for industry.

On 13 April 2026, the Control of Borrowing (Jersey) Amendment Order 2026 (Amendment Order) comes into effect. The Amendment Order is the first phase of changes as the island moves toward the full repeal in 2027 of:

  • the Control of Borrowing (Jersey) Law 1947
  • the Control of Borrowing (Jersey) Order 1958

Who is affected?

These changes affect a wide range of industry participants, including law firms, fund services businesses, trust company businesses, investment businesses, and those operating non fund structures.

What is changing?

Changes to Control of Borrowing (Jersey) Order 1958

  • deletion of Article 7 (Government Securities): removes the requirement to obtain consent to register government securities where the government is not the UK, Jersey, or Guernsey
  • limits Article 9 (Unit Trust): unless the unit trust is an investment fund, removes the requirement to obtain consent:
    • to raise money in Jersey
    • issue units where the scheme is governed by the Law of Jersey
    • hold a register in Jersey
  • excludes non-domiciled non-fund entities (NDNFs): removes the requirement for NDNFs to obtain consent to raise money in Jersey or hold a register in Jersey
  • limits Articles 8, 10(1)(c), 11(1)(c), 11A(1)(c): unless the offer is to retail investors, removes the requirement to obtain JFSC consent to circulate in Jersey offers of interests in:
    • foreign companies
    • unit trusts
    • limited partnerships
    • limited liability partnerships
    • limited liability companies 

From 13 April 2026, any COBO consent issued to a unit trust or NDNF where no such consent is required once the Amendment Order is in force, is treated as no longer having effect. This does not affect the validity of anything done in reliance on the consent.

Change to the Financial Services (Investment Business (Restricted Investment Business – Exemption)) (Jersey) Order 2001 and Financial Services (Investment Business (Special Purpose Investment Business – Exemption)) (Jersey) Order 2001

  • amends Article 3 of both orders to remove the relevant consent requirement for professional investor regulated schemes (PIRS) and special purpose regulated schemes (SPRS)

Change to the Collective Investment Funds (Restriction of Scope) (Jersey) Order 2000

  • amends Article 2: removes the relevant consent requirement to rely on the existing exemption

What is staying the same?

  • when specific financial service businesses are provided to a PIRS or SPRS the exemption from registration under the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998 remains available, providing the remaining criteria are met
  • the ability for an investment scheme to not constitute a collective investment fund for the purpose of the Collective Investment (Jersey) Law 1988 remains available providing the remaining criterion are met
  • a COBO consent is still required for foreign prospectuses circulated in Jersey to retail investors (the Amendment Order introduces a definition of retail investor for this purpose)
  • specifically, Jersey private funds and special purpose vehicles (for example, securities issuers) still require a COBO consent
  • all other COBO consent applications remain unaffected by the Amendment Order - the wider repeal of the COB Framework will proceed in phases and will not be completed until 2027
  • the Amendment Order does not change the registration requirements applicable to Schedule 2 businesses under the financial crime framework

What should industry do next?

To prepare for the 13 April changes, firms should:

  • review internal processes to identify and remove dependencies on COBO Articles affected by the Amendment Order
  • update documentation such as policies, procedures, and product governance frameworks, noting that the Amendment Order does not impact any AML/CFT/CPF responsibilities
  • assess whether non-fund or prospectus activity is impacted by the narrowing of Articles 8, 9, 10, 11, and 11A
  • consider investor segmentation, particularly where foreign offers are being made to Jersey professional or retail investors

Next steps

We will publish further communications and guidance covering the practical aspects of implementation. Additional updates will follow during 2026 as work continues with government and industry on the remaining steps toward full repeal of the COBO framework.

Contact us

For questions about how these changes apply to your business, please contact your Supervisor or contact our policy team.