Figures published today in the latest Survey of Financial Institutions paint an overall picture of resilience and stability for Jersey’s finance industry, whilst highlighting that there are strong signs of growth in certain sectors and sustained positivity in employment levels.
There was strong growth in a number of sectors, including the trust and company administration and legal sectors, which were up 3% and 5%, respectively, and the accountancy sector, which saw GVA grow by 13%, reflecting the increasingly diverse nature of the finance industry.
Whilst the Survey, which is based on data for 2015, shows that overall Gross Value Added (GVA) of the industry fell by a nominal 1% during the year, this was due largely to the banking sector, which accounts for 53% of all financial services output, falling by 5% in real terms.
Richard Corrigan, DCEO of Jersey Finance commented: "Global financial services have changed dramatically over recent years, with the banking industry in particular experiencing disruption, resulting in balance sheet shrinkage and consolidation, all in a low interest rate environment. Against this backdrop, a stable picture for Jersey is welcome news. The figures support the focus Jersey's government, industry and regulator have placed at a sector level in response to these global trends. This includes a dedicated banking project that will help support the long-term sustainability of locally-based banking organisations, and real investment in growing our funds, corporate and private wealth sectors."
Meanwhile, the Survey reveals that the industry is continuing to recruit high levels of local students and spend significantly in the local economy. Following a jump in 2014, 360 school leavers and university graduates were employed in the industry in 2015, the second highest level in the past decade. In addition, each employee in the finance industry added £137,000 to the local economy, whilst firms also spent £300m on local goods and services, just over two-fifths of all expenditure.
Richard Corrigan added: "Overall, these figures support what we have been hearing anecdotally from firms. A poll of our members recently, for instance, found that more than half of finance businesses that responded to our survey expect their headcount to grow over the course of the next twelve months, with the majority of vacancies being filled by local people. We expect this emphasis on local recruitment to continue.
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