Finance shakes off business blues during covid winter

Wednesday 03 February 2021

Despite the huge impact of covid, the finance industry is feeling optimistic after a positive end to 2020.

Each quarter, Statistics Jersey asks Chief Executives and Managing Directors for their opinions on the current situation of their business compared to three months earlier and their expectations for the next three months.

According to their latest survey, unlike the rest of the economy, activity in the finance industry in December was significantly higher than three months before.

And looking ahead three months to March this year, the collective view of finance bosses was strongly positive last month, while for non-finance companies, the view was ‘moderately’ negative.

When it came to finance industry expectations for the whole of 2021, 45% of companies expect to see an increase in profits, compared to 30% who think there will be a decrease. 

Pictured: Jersey Finance CEO Joe Moynihan.

However, the amount of profit expected is significantly down compared to how business bosses felt in December 2019. Job growth expectations for this year were also ‘neutral’, with less optimism around than a year earlier.  

Commenting on the latest Business Tendency Survey, Jersey Finance CEO Joe Moynihan said: “These positive results for the industry in the last quarter are welcomed, in spite of the ongoing challenges caused by the pandemic and the lead up to Brexit.

“It is fair to say that the finance industry has remained resilient during this time and has not experienced the same level of disruption as other Island sectors.

“Our strategic forward-looking approach, in partnership with the regulator, government and our industry representatives allowed us to increasingly internationalise our client base and evolve our product offering to retain our competitive edge among other finance centres.

“This collaboration, along with the employees’ ability to react to circumstances and retain their high quality client relationships, has been a critical factor during this period, allowing us to maintain excellent standards and service in spite of the ongoing restrictions.

“Standard and Poor’s recent positive endorsement of Jersey’s economic position reflects our stability and resilience, as we navigate and adapt to these extraordinary times. 

“The outlook for the coming months remains cautiously optimistic and we remain confident that investors will continue to see Jersey as a jurisdiction of choice, with an attractive and sophisticated ecosystem for financial services.”

Previously, Mr Moynihan has said that the ability of the finance industry to travel during the pandemic was essential to generate new business.

In recently published STAC minutes from September, when Mr Moynihan spoke to the Government’s scientific advisers, it was reported that he told them that those operating in the private client sector were “aware that deals could not be closed unless clients were able to travel to the Island.”

He also noted that he was aware that some partners from law firms had been able to travel off-island and secure good deals and that ability had differentiated Jersey from other jurisdictions.

In the December survey, while the business activity indicator was ‘moderately positive’ for the finance, it was ‘strongly negative’ for the non-finance sector.