The Isle of Man finance sector enjoyed a successful night on 13th May, when the Isle of Man won the International Investment Award for ‘Best International Finance Centre’.

It is the eighth time (out of a possible nine) that the Island has taken the coveted award . Isle of Man companies fared equally well, picking up eight other awards.

Announcing the awards, host Steve Evans said 'that in the judges’ opinion the winning centre had clearly identified the challenges that it faces and developed clear strategies to deal with these.'

Other Isle of Man winners included AXA IOM, Fairbairn Private Bank, Royal Skandia International (who picked up three awards), Standard Bank and Zurich International.

Treasury Minister Allan Bell MHK said 'We were delighted to receive the Best International Finance Centre Award again especially as the judges understood the difficulties that all the economies have been going through during 2008, the period for the award, and they clearly saw that the Isle of Man had risen to these challenges in a professional and intelligent way'.

'It is clear that the Isle of Man submission was recognised for how it articulated the way forward and was judged on the strengths of the Isle of Man Economy, our finance industry and our management of the various challenges arising from the global financial crisis during 2008'.

'I am particularly pleased that the awards also reflect the success of our Isle of Man institutions and recognise their commitment to providing clients with expert services and products. 

All in all, the awards are a further endorsement of the quality of the Isle of Man’s financial services industry and further enhance our reputation as a centre of excellence'.