GUERNSEY’S finance sector is well placed to weather the global economic storm because of its diversity.

That is the view of Steve Le Page, chairman of the Guernsey International Business Association.

He bases his optimism on a survey it carried out which gauged feelings from all industries within the sector.

‘One thing we have always maintained is that Guernsey’s finance sector is diverse,’ he said.

‘That diversity helps it to withstand the shocks because what might be bad news for one industry might not be so bad for another and might even be an opportunity for another.’

However, despite the optimism from the sector, Mr Le Page admitted that small-scale redundancies were likely as businesses cut costs because of the state of the economy.

‘Quite a few businesses in Guernsey make their money on the value of what they are looking after,’ he said. ‘That value is down because the markets as a whole are down so your fees are reduced and that is bound to have an impact.