'Slow down' in island's business

Uncertainty in worldwide financial markets has led to a drop in business coming to Guernsey, the chief executive of Guernsey Finance has said.

But Peter Niven said the island would not see the job losses affecting US institutions like Lehman Brothers.

He said there were "a lot of people" who wanted to do business in Guernsey and the island was a chosen jurisdiction for the finance industry.

The value of funds in the island grew by 1.7% from April to June.

Deposit drop

Mr Niven said: "We've already started to experience a bit of a slowing down of the amount of business that's coming into Guernsey.

"That is a symptom of confidence, what the financial markets need most of all is confidence.

"There are a lot of people who want to business in Guernsey, but because of that lack of confidence we're seeing them just sitting on their hands at the moment."

Figures published by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission show that the value of funds in the island grew by 1.7% from April to the end of June, but banking deposits fell by 1.1% in the same period.

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