JFSC Releases Quarterly Bank Deposit And Investment Fund Results

by Carla Johnson, Investors Offshore.com

12 September 2003

It has emerged that bank deposits and collective investment funds increased in value in Jersey during the second quarter of this year.

The latest quarterly results, released earlier this month by the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC), revealed that bank deposits rose 0.5% to £156.4 billion, whilst the value of funds held on the Island increased 2.3% to £98.3 billion.

Although the JFSC welcomed the improved performances in both of these areas, it suggested that the fact that more than half of the deposits held in the jurisdiction are denominated in US dollars may have constrained growth in this area, given the currency's recent weakness against sterling.

Meanwhile, according to the JFSC report, company incorporations reached 442 in the period between April and June, representing a 47% drop on the same period in 2002. The Commission suggested that this could be due to changes in UK law and a slump in the global economy.

Commenting on the statistics, Richard Pratt, Director General of the Commission, observed that: "Despite the continuing fall in the number of Company Incorporations we have seen during the recent past, the Commission remains positive about the figures seen in this report.'

'Bank Deposits have remained at a high level and the value of the Islands funds has increased for the first time in six months. The performance of the Island's finance industry during the past quarter has shown that the Island continues to attract business during this time of difficult trading conditions, and that can only bode well for the Island as a whole.'

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