Clydesdale Bank International, the National Australia Bank Group division that opened a deposit-taking arm on Guernsey in April, reported “significant growth” in the third quarter of 2009, even as bank deposits generally in Guernsey fell.
That dip in Guernsey’s banking deposits, of 3.5% during the quarter, had been attributed to a decline in Swiss fiduciary deposits, a popular product among many of Guernsey’s banks.
Clydesdale said its 25% growth in its deposit base during the same period was due to “an ongoing focus on traditional banking practice delivered by its experienced customer service team”.
Deposits totalled more than £1bn at the end of September, according to Clydesdale Bank International managing director James Blower, up from around £800,000 at the end of June.
Clydesdale Bank International opened its St Peter Port, Guernsey operation in April, and currently employs 14. Clydesdale Bank was founded in Glasgow in 1838, and has 152 retail branches and 45 so-called Financial Solutions Centres, which were launched in 2004 to provide a range of business and private banking services tailored to accommodate the communities in which they are located.
Its deposit-taking business is predominantly corporate, but much of the growth has come from corporate, trust and private individuals, Clydesdale said.
In a statement, Blower said such benefits to its customers as the use of the bank’s premises free of charge was “a key differentiator in the busy marketplace, and demonstrates that we think and act differently”.
