Bermuda Issues Q4 2010 Financial Services Data

by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

02 May 2011

The Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) has released its latest regulatory update, containing figures for the final quarter of 2010, and providing year-on-year statistics in respect of the island's financial services industry.

In the banking sector, total assets increased 4.9% on the previous quarter, to USD23.4bn for Q4 2010. Compared to a figure of USD21.9bn the previous year, this represents a USD1.5bn rise. In total, deposits reached USD19.6bn, a jump of 5.4% from Q3, when they sat at USD18.6bn. For Q4 2010, total deposits were USD18.5bn, resulting in a year-on-year increase of USD1.1bn.

In the funds industry, numbers fell slightly, continuing the downward trend seen in previous quarters. Whereas, in Q3 2009, the total number of funds was 1,016, by Q3 2010, this had fallen to 938. Now, as the figures show, the total stands at 900. However, as the BMA points out, the end of 2010 actually saw an increase in the net asset value (NAV) of Bermuda's funds. Compared to the previous quarter, Q4 saw an increase of 1.6%, or USD2.85bn, to USD178.44bn. Year-on-year, there was a USD35.14bn rise in NAV.

According to the BMA, the insurance sector continued to record significant results, with an increase in aggregate total assets for the reporting period ended December, 2009, of USD496bn. The registration of new insurance companies picked up again after a small slump in Q3, with 13 new additions in Q4, mostly of the single parent captive and single purpose, single transaction or single customer variety. These 13 new authorizations represent a year-on-year increase of 30% over Q4 2009, when 10 were registered.

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