At December 31, 1997, The BSX had 190 securities listed with a total market capitalization of $47 billion. The year began with 137 securities listed with a market capitalization of $37 billion.
Total trading volumes increased to more than $11.172 billion on a volume of 224 million shares in 1997 from $3.4 billion on a volume of 56 million shares in 1996. The increase was primarily the result of heavy international crossing volumes. The volume of international crosses increased by $7.7 billion to $11 billion on a volume of 216 million shares in 1997.
In domestic shares, the volume of shares increased to 6.5 million in 1997 from 2.9 million the previous year. Total value of domestic shares traded rose to $96.4 million from $35.7 million. Domestic bond trading was also up, increasing to $2.4 million on a volume of 1.5 million nominal value in 1997 from $900,000 on a volume of 700,000 nominal value in 1996.
The most active domestic issue in 1997 was The Bank of N.T. Butterfield with 3.163 million shares traded, followed by The Bank of Bermuda, BELCO Holdings Ltd., Bermuda Commercial Bank, and TeleBermuda International.
Other highlights for the year saw The BSX:
Surpass the 100 mark in listed mutual funds;
Average monthly crossing volumes in excess of US$1 billion
Cross-list three major international insurance companies: ACE Limited, XL Limited, Mutual Risk Management Limited
Increase its membership base to nine Trading Members
Create a new membership category for Listing Sponsors and added its first new listing sponsor, Voyager Financial services
Significantly increased the number of employees from four to nine.
In addition, The BSX
signed a joint agreement with CATEX International to start an electronic risk exchange in Bermuda;
formed a partnership with FTSE International to launch a Bermuda Insurance Index to track the performance of the Bermuda insurance market;
announce the creation of a new Web site, the Offshore Funds Network (www.offshore- funds.net), dedicated entirely to offshore fund information (set for launch in early 1998).
"We are very proud of the results achieved during 1997," said Mr. W. William A. Woods, Chief Executive Officer of The BSX. "Our success this past year adds greatly to our credibility and clearly demonstrates the strength of The BSX in attracting new listings. We are on a growth path which we are confident will continue throughout 1998."
For additional information, please contact Robin H. McPhee at The BSX, Tel: 441-292-7212, or e-mail info@bsx.com.