Press Release - 27 September 2004

The Jersey Financial Services Commission has today 27 September 2004 issued its quarterly report for the period 1 April 2004 to 30 June 2004.

Headlines:

• Bank deposits increased by 1.25% during the quarter to £157.6 billion.
  
• The total value of funds under management (Class B of the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998) increased by 2.2% during the quarter to £36.6 billion.
  
• The value of collective investment funds managed in the Island stood at £98.2 billion as at 30 June 2004.
  
  

Bank Deposits

Jersey bank deposits increased by 1.25% (£1.94 billion) during the quarter (see Appendix A).

31.7% of bank deposits are held in sterling and 68.3% are held in currencies other than sterling (see Appendix B).

The number of banking licences remained constant at 51.

Figure 1

BANK DEPOSITS
(£ MILLION)AS AT 30 JUNE FOR EACH OF THE PAST FOUR YEARS

Funds

The Collective Investment Funds (Jersey) Law 1998 (The "Law")
The Control of Borrowing (Jersey) Order 1958 (The "Order")

As explained in previous Quarterly Reports, since 1 October 2003 the Commission has excluded from the figures Collective Investment Funds for which permits were issued under the Law for minor functions performed in respect of non-Jersey funds (e.g. Distributors). Guidance was given to the industry by the Commission as to what constituted a major and minor function. It appears however that some funds have been reporting incorrectly. The Commission has now refined the reporting template to put beyond doubt which category a fund must be recorded under. As a consequence, the figures previously given for the quarters ending 31 December 2003 and 31 March 2004 have been adjusted to take into account this refinement. As a result, the figures are approximately 3.9% higher than previously reported.

In the quarter to June 2004, while the number of separate pools of assets has risen, the value of funds under management has dropped. Analysis of this drop identifies net redemptions to be the principal cause.

Appendices C and D provide more analysis of fund statistics.

Company incorporations

The total number of incorporations during the June quarter was 584, an increase of 32% over the corresponding quarter in 2003. This continued the trend seen in the previous two quarters. The increase was primarily due to changes in UK legislation relating to stamp duty which will come into force later in the year, and the improving global economy.

The number of ‘fast track’ incorporations for the quarter was 241 and the number of normal company incorporations was 343. (See Notes to Editors.)

For the first six months of 2004, against their self-imposed target of 95%, the Registry recorded a 99.9% rate for normal two-day incorporations and a 99.6% rate for fast track incorporations. (See Notes to Editors.)

Figure 2 illustrates the number of new company incorporations in the first six months of the past four years. (See also Appendix E.)

Figure 2

TOTAL NEW COMPANY INCORPORATIONS IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS OF THE PAST FOUR YEARS

Investment Business

Total funds under management (Class B of the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998) stood at £36.6 billion as at 30 June 2004, an increase of 27.5% over the same quarter of 2003.

As at 30 June 2004, the total number of clients of investment managers was 20,188.

Insurance Business

There were no new insurance company licences issued during the quarter ended 30 June 2004, nor were there any cancellations.

The total number of insurance licences at 30 June 2004 therefore remained at 170, of which 155 were Category A and 15 Category B (see Appendix F).

Figure 3

ALL INSURANCE LICENCES ASAT 30 JUNE FOR EACH OF THE PAST
FOUR YEARS

Conclusion

David Carse, Director General of the Commission, commenting on the quarterly statistics said today, “Business volumes in the various sectors continued to hold up well in the June quarter”.

For further information:

David Carse
Director General
Jersey Financial Services Commission

Telephone: +44(0) 1534 822011
Facsimile: +44(0) 1534 822001
Email: d.carse@jerseyfsc.org

Notes to Editors:

1. Normal company incorporations are completed within two working days whilst fast track incorporations are completed within two hours.

2. Published timescales were introduced the week commencing 1 January 2000, and the Registry has worked to those targets throughout the last year.

Appendix A

Annual growth in Banks and Bank Deposits to date. £ Millions

Appendix B

ANALYSIS OF DEPOSITS - JUNE 2004

Appendix C

COLLCOLLECTIVE INVESTMENT FUNDS (JERSEY) LAW 1988 ("THE LAW")
CONTROL OF BORROWING (JERSEY) ORDER 1958 (THE "ORDER")

SUMMARY OF STATISTICAL SURVEY OF FUNDS SERVICED IN JERSEY AS AT 30 JUNE 2004

From the 1 October 2003 we have excluded from the figures, the collective investment funds for which a permit was issued under the Law for the function of distributor or similar minor function. However, we now collect statistics on the private schemes administered in the Island, which, although not requiring a permit under the Law, require consent under the Order (such funds are termed "COBO funds")

ANALYSIS OF CIFS AND COBO FUNDS

Appendix D

Analysis by Investment Policy Code

Appendix E

Appendix F

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