BSX Releases 2019 Year End Review Report
The Bermuda Stock Exchange [BSX] today [Jan 6] released results for the year ending 31 December 2019.
In making the year-end announcement, BSX President and Chief Executive Officer Greg Wojciechowski stated, “2019 was an extremely active year for the Bermuda Stock Exchange; of particular significance was the announcement in November that Miami International Holdings [MIH] had acquired a controlling interest in the Exchange.
“The acquisition is in perfect alignment with our shared corporate strategy to expand our, now combined, world-class exchange platforms, derivatives trading and regulatory experience to establish a much larger international presence, to address emerging markets and other opportunities such as digital assets.
The BSX’s reappointment to the Board of the World Federation of Exchanges was another noteworthy achievement, one the BSX said “globally reinforces the Exchange’s position as a preeminent offshore Exchange.”
Mr. Wojciechowski added, “2019 also marked a resurgence in the ILS market, especially with respect to Catastrophe Property bonds, and correspondingly there was a steady uptick in the listing of risk-linked securities on the BSX. Concurrently, the Exchange actively sought out new markets and products to further expand our consistently developing listing service for structured debt products.”
BSX Chief Compliance Officer, Mr. James McKirdy stated, “2019 was indeed another positive year for the Exchange. The number of ILS listed securities rose from 125 in 2018 to 155 securities in 2019, with a combined nominal value of $10.84 billion, This represents a growth of 24% year-on-year. At the end of the year the total number of ILS listed securities stood at 401, with a combined nominal value of $34.72 billion.
The BSX said, “Based on a recently released report by Artemis, global ILS issuance outstanding market size stood at a record breaking $41.0 billion at the close of 2019, of which 84.6% of the total is now listed on the BSX.
“International debt listings held steady in 2019, despite a global downturn in the sector, due in part to market uncertainty over Brexit in the UK. Notwithstanding the pause in the growth of the number of securities listed, the nominal value of the listings grew by $1.3 billion, or 17% to $8.9 billion, as maturing securities were replaced by larger issuances, in nominal terms.”
Mr. McKirdy’s report went on to note; “The Exchange listed 9 new collective investment vehicles, 3 new equities and 13 new derivatives. A further 2 subsequent issues were also processed by the BSX.
“As in previous years, de-listings in the year followed a normal pattern and were mainly comprised of time-limited securities which matured as part of the normal course of business.
“At year end the were a total of 1,004 listed securities, compared to 988 in 2018.”
The RG/BSX Index closed the year up at 2,404.48, an increase of 22.74% over 2018, in keeping with global market trends.
“Trading volume on the Domestic Market decreased in 2019 to 3.1 million shares traded. Correspondingly share value traded ended the year at $30.6 million. Overall, the BSX ended the year with a total market capitalization of $332 billion.
Operations Manager, Neville Caines, contributing to the report noted; “The BSD, the domestic Central Counter Party [CCP] and Central Securities Depository [CSD], continued to ensure orderly settlement of trades and processing of all domestic corporate actions. At years’ end the BSD held 49% of all domestic listed securities in custody down 13% from that of last year.
Mr. Caines continued; “Building on the results of the much-anticipated America’s Central Securities Depository Association [ACSDA] Financial Market Infrastructure [PFMI] onsite review completed in June 2019, the Exchange continues to work vigorously to ensure its alignment with global harmonization of securities settlement standards.”
“Our partnership with NASDAQ continues, with further upgrades to our Trading, Settlement and Depository systems planned for early 2020. The development of our website www.bsx.com, also continues with additional information and search facilities added in 2019. Increasing use of virtualization technology allowed us to increase system redundancy. Cybersecurity, always a priority at the BSX, saw several new surveillance mechanisms implemented, to further fortify the protection of the Exchange’s data.
“The year-end report went on to note that the BSX remains firmly committed to its support of Bermuda’s Domestic Capital Market. In 2019, as part of its “Own Your Share of Bermuda” investor education awareness programme, the BSX again participated in IOSCO’s World Investor Week in October.
“In keeping with the event’s global theme ‘Ring the bell for financial literacy’, the BSX, in partnership with the CFA Society of Bermuda and with the assistance of the City of Hamilton’s Town Crier, quite literally rang the bell in Bermuda to reinforce the importance of investor literacy and ongoing education. Bermuda’s daily paper, The Royal Gazette, also supported the initiative, running a series of investor education and literacy articles throughout the week.
Closing out the report Mr. Wojciechowski noted: “2019 was a busy and successful year for the Exchange. At the close of 2018 we made a commitment to Bermuda and to all our stakeholders, to expand our international outreach with a view to creating new strategic partnerships and we have lived up to and, in many respects, exceeded that promise.
“The merger with MIH took many months of determined effort on the part of all concerned and I am exceptionally proud of how our dedicated BSX team seamlessly managed the day-to-day operations of the Exchange throughout the process; ensuring there was no interruption to the world-class service on which we have built our solid global reputation.
“Today, as we stand on the threshold of not only a new year but a new decade, we look forward with even greater resolve to building on our strengths, as together with new, and established partners, we renew our commitment to the Domestic Capital Market, which we have served for over 45 years, all the while ensuring that the BSX remains the World’s preeminent offshore securities exchange, and Bermuda the place where business happens.”
