Total deposits held with Guernsey banks at the end of Spetember 1999 fell 1.6% by £878 million from the end of the previous quarter to reach a new high of £55,703 million.
The dominant foreign currency element, when reported in Sterling, was adversely affected by the strengthening of the pound against the major currencies - mainly USD, EUR and CHF. In fact, when expressed in their base currencies, the underlying figures remained steady. Some of that exchange rate pressure has already eased in the current quarter.
Sterling deposits were down 0.8% by £166mn. In the sterling deposit markets there signs that the intensity of competition in the onshore personal savings market is having an impact on the offshore market as some depositors switched funds.
The currency breakdown is split 35% sterling and 65% other currency deposits. The largest single currency type within the total deposits remains USD at 45%. The euro and the euro legacy currencies accounted for over 14% of deposits at the quarter end.
A table showing the level of deposits since 1980 is below.
There was one new licence issued during the quarter, to BGL Private Bank (Channel Islands) Limited, a subsidiary of Banque Generale du Luxembourg S.A. while Banque Belge (Guernsey) Limited surrendered its licence following the amalgamation with MeesPierson (C.I.) Limited. However, these developments had no influence on this quarter's figures.
Philip Marr, Director of Banking says
"The pause in deposit growth does not raise any fundamental concerns - with two thirds of our deposits denominated in foreign currency our figures will be affected in periods when the pound is particularly strong.".
Deposits with licensed deposit-takers
End |
No. of licensed |
Deposits |
Quarterly Variation % |
Yearly Variation % |
|
1980 |
43 |
1,800 |
68.2 |
||
1981 |
42 |
2,691 |
49.5 |
||
1982 |
41 |
3,307 |
22.9 |
||
1983 |
41 |
4,243 |
28.3 |
||
1984 |
45 |
5,838 |
37.6 |
||
1985 |
47 |
7,209 |
16.7 |
||
1986 |
52 |
9,508 |
31.9 |
||
1987 |
54 |
8,838 |
-7.0 |
||
1988 |
56 |
10,168 |
15.0 |
||
1989 |
58 |
12,992 |
27.8 |
||
1990 |
Mar |
66 |
13,387 |
3.0 |
|
June |
68 |
13,469 |
0.6 |
||
Sept |
70 |
14,522 |
7.8 |
||
Dec |
72 |
15,476 |
6.6 |
19.1 |
|
1991 |
Mar |
72 |
16,203 |
4.7 |
|
Jun |
72 |
16,829 |
3.9 |
||
Sept |
71 |
16,156 |
-4.0 |
||
Dec |
72 |
16,250 |
0.6 |
5.0 |
|
1992 |
Mar |
73 |
17,849 |
9.8 |
|
June |
72 |
17,673 |
-1.0 |
||
Sept |
73 |
21,226 |
20.1 |
||
Dec |
76 |
27,442 |
29.3 |
68.9 |
|
1993 |
Mar |
73 |
30,299 |
10.4 |
|
June |
74 |
32,605 |
7.6 |
||
Sept |
75 |
37,595 |
15.3 |
||
Dec |
75 |
37,482 |
-0.3 |
36.6 |
|
1994 |
Mar |
74 |
37,773 |
0.8 |
|
June |
73 |
40,320 |
6.7 |
||
Sept |
73 |
41,439 |
2.8 |
||
Dec |
73 |
42,191 |
1.8 |
12.6 |
|
1995 |
Mar |
72 |
43,018 |
2.0 |
|
June |
73 |
45,207 |
5.1 |
||
Sept |
73 |
44,437 |
-1.7 |
||
Dec |
73 |
46,855 |
5.4 |
11.1 |
|
1996 |
Mar |
75 |
45,897 |
-2.0 |
|
June |
76 |
44,917 |
-2.1 |
||
Sept |
75 |
43,832 |
-2.4 |
||
Dec |
72 |
43,324 |
-1.2 |
-7.5 |
|
1997 |
Mar |
73 |
45,652 |
5.4 |
|
June |
75 |
45,973 |
0.7 |
||
Sept |
79 |
47,786 |
3.9 |
||
Dec |
78 |
49,357 |
3.3 |
13.9 |
|
1998 |
Mar |
76 |
48,658 |
-1.4 |
|
June |
76 |
49,792 |
2.3 |
||
Sept |
78 |
50,434 |
1.3 |
||
Dec |
78 |
52,922 |
4.9 |
7.2 |
|
1999 |
Mar |
78 |
54,040 |
2.1 |
|
1999 |
June |
79 |
56,581 |
4.7 |
|
1999 |
Sept |
79 |
55,703* |
-1.6 |
|
* of which £1,067 million constitutes local interbank deposits |
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