A recent record-setting surge on The Royal Gazette/Bermuda Stock Exchange index is due largely to trading of Butterfield Bank stock, according to the BSX?s chief executive officer Greg Wojciechowski.

The Index has seen almost steady gains since last Wednesday when it jumped to an all-time high of 3601.16. It hit another high last Friday of 3608.59 and closed yesterday at 3,614.44.

Mr. Wojciechowski said that since the BSX/RG index is a composite index of all of the domestic stocks and is weighted on market capitalisation, Butterfield Bank?s improved share price over the short term has pulled the index up.

Butterfield Bank closed yesterday at $43.50.

?Their share price has been increasing, they just recently announced another tenpercent stock dividend so they are definitely building shareholder confidence and interest in the stock,? he said adding that the bank?s current share buyback programme also builds value.

The Exchange is of course ?delighted? to see the index go up since it is a barometer of the health of companies listed on the exchange and thus gives investors a quick indication of how the market overall is doing, he said.

?Looking at it historically, Bermuda stocks have held value so many Bermudian investors buy and hold them for that reason,? he said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Wojciechowski said the BSX?s success in being granted recognition by Australian and British regulators has sparked international interest in the Exchange.

Earlier this year The Australian Tax Authority granted the BSX Approved Stock Exchange status under Australia?s Foreign Investment Fund (FIF) taxation rules while even more recently The United Kingdom?s Financial Services Authority (FSA) granted it Designated Investment Exchange (DIE) status.

Although it is still early days, Mr. Wojciechowski said yesterday that the new designations have spurred a number of new queries though it is too soon to quantify them.

?The pipeline for when somebody calls the exchange and says I want to ask about listing and when that person actually makes it through the listing sponsor process into the Exchange along with the compliance and vetting process and then approval can be a long pipeline.? he said.

Since the Australian designation gives Australian investors clear guidance on when unrealised gains on investment held in foreign countries may be exempt from foreign investment fund taxation measures, Mr. Wojciechowski said he expects that it could also help attract Australian investors interested in Bermuda-listed entities.

?(The designations) are good for the exchange and great for Bermuda as well because they not only look at the exchange?s structure, regulations, trading and settlement system but they also look at the regulatory environment that underpins the exchange in Bermuda.

?Clearly, these international regulators are saying that we are satisfied with the standard of regulation that is being implemented and administered in Bermuda and that is huge for us.?

The BSX is now pursuing further UK recognition, he said.

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