Guernsey bank deposits rise after nine month decline

The amount of money deposited in Guernsey's banks increased by £1.9bn during the first three months of 2011, arresting a nine month decline.

The 1.7% rise brought the total value of bank deposits in the island to £112.9bn at the end of March.

However, this figure represents a drop of 4.9% (£5.8bn) on the previous year.

Peter Niven, the chief executive of Guernsey Finance, said: "We are hopeful that this is an indication of light at the end of the tunnel."

However he said: "It would be wrong to overstate this growth. The banking environment remains difficult with the general expectation that base rates will continue to be low for some time to come."

Deposits in US dollars increased by 7.2% and those in euros by 0.4%, while deposits in Swiss francs fell by 7% and those in sterling by 0.9%.