Originally published 26 February 2009
Deposits held by banks in Guernsey increased by £20.8bn
(15.3%) during the final quarter of last year in large part due to
the weakening of sterling against the major trading currencies.
The rise took total Guernsey bank deposits to £157.1bn at
the end of December 2008. This represents growth of £38bn
(31.9%) year on year.
"Not unexpectedly the weakening of sterling, which declined
18% against the US Dollar, 17% against the Euro and 22% against the
Swiss Franc, has contributed to a very substantial rise in the
value of Guernsey bank deposits during the final quarter of
2008," said Peter Niven, Chief Executive of Guernsey
Finance.
"Underlying this we have seen a decrease in both US Dollar
and Swiss Franc business, which in part reflects the reduced
attractiveness of Swiss fiduciary deposits at low interest rate
levels. However, it is very encouraging that we have seen volume
increases in Euro and sterling business despite
