ST. HELIER, Jersey: The village-like capital of Jersey features many of the brands typically found in any British town: the Ladbrokes betting shop, the retailer Marks and Spencer and the drugstore Boots.
But step down a side street on this plush island off the French coast and almost every other building bears the name of a private equity, wealth management, or banking firm.
The social security office sits almost exactly opposite BNP Paribas Securities Services, a coincidental symbol of this British crown dependency's reliance on its status as an offshore banking tax haven, a status that scandal elsewhere has dragged into the limelight.
"The bankers have brought a heck of a lot of money to the island," said Michelle Hervieu, a 40-year-old cab driver who has lived in St. Helier all her life.
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