Offshore bond sales hold up better than UK counterparts

According to the ABI's long-term business data for Q1 2009, new sales of offshore single premium accumulation and protection products, including investment bonds and personal bonds, declined by 42.6% from £1,896m in Q4 2008, to £986m in Q1 2009. This compares favourably with onshore investment and savings, including bonds, which plummeted by 58.3%, albeit from a higher base of £3,772m in Q4 2008 to £3,032m in Q1 2009. Richard Leeson, head of UK business development at Prudential International, believes the sale of new onshore bonds may actually have fallen by as much as 64%. Accordin...