History
The Isle of Man is a self governing Crown Dependency situated in the Irish Sea between Ireland and England. Tynwald, the Manx Parliament, is older than the House of Commons (UK Parliament) and has provided the seat of government for over 1,000 years. Democracy, then, is part of Manx history.
The Isle of Man enacts its own legislation, which receives Royal assent. As the United Kingdom has sovereignty over the Island, it is responsible for the Island’s ultimate good government. The island's political and economic stability make it the ideal location from which to conduct offshore financial services from.
Banking regulation is provided by the Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission, this is an independent statutory body and has responsibility for licensing and supervision of banks in the Isle of Man.
Protection
The Isle of Man is the only offshore finance centre providing compensation schemes in all three of the main areas of finance – namely deposits, funds and life policies.
Security
The Isle of Man was the first of 35 jurisdictions to achieve the highest financial services rating issued by three of the world’s most influential policy making bodies (OECD, FATF and FSF).
This rating relates to an offshore financial centre’s stability and security.
The Island is the first Crown Dependency to launch an independent Financial Services Ombudsman scheme. Individuals with an unresolved complaint against an Isle of Man company after April 1999 can use the scheme.