Steady performance for Jersey’s finance industry in first quarter

Thursday 28 May 2015

Latest figures released on Jersey’s finance industry show a steady performance including a small increase in banking deposits and signs that a change to fund regulation will support certain types of new funds business.

Banking deposits have reached their highest level since last summer and while there was a small fall in the value of funds, this has followed a period of consistent growth each quarter, so overall the economic picture is very stable.

The statistics, collated and prepared by the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC), are for the three month period ending 31^st March 2015. Headline figures include:

• The total value of banking deposits held in Jersey increased by £4.9bn from £132.4bn to £137.3bn during the first quarter of 2015

• The net asset value of regulated funds under administration decreased by £1.9bn from £228.9bn to £227bn during Q1 2015

• The total number of regulated collective investment funds decreased by 1 from 1,323 to 1,322 over the quarterly period, whilst as at end of the first quarter of 2015, there were 125 active unregulated funds

• The value of total funds under investment management rose slightly to £20.9bn at the end of the first quarter of 2015. These figures do not include the total assets under management within the Qualifying Segregated Managed Accounts (QSMA) regime which stood at £1.9bn at the end of the quarter.  It is the first quarter that the JFSC has collated data relating to QSMA and these would otherwise have been reported as funds under investment management.

• The total number of live companies on the register stood at 32,861 at the end of Q1 2015.

Geoff Cook, Chief Executive, Jersey Finance, said: “We are pleased to see another steady performance from the finance industry during the first quarter, representing a positive start to 2015. It was led by banking deposits which rose by 3.7% in the first three months to £137.3bn, the result of an underlying increase of £3.4bn and the impact of sterling weakness versus the US Dollar.

“The value of funds, which grew steadily in 2014 to reach a peak of £228.9bn, has remained stable this quarter and it is encouraging also to see a total of £1.9bn of assets under management reported under the Qualifying Segregated Managed Accounts exemption. Managed accounts are a growth area for Jersey and the recently introduced exemption has been a welcome regulatory development, which has been embraced by fund managers.

“Our strategy of international cooperation and supporting the growing call for greater transparency in financial services continues to make Jersey a safe haven for deposits and our strong commitment to the alternative funds sector will enable us to accelerate growth and create sustainable value for fund managers.”