of the month, according to local insurance sources.

The company has been able to land another management contract over the last few weeks, luring Bankers Insurance Company Ltd. away from International Risk Management.

But the BICL deal, thought to be worth around $180,000 per annum, is believed to be large enough only to secure a few jobs at most.

It does not come anywhere near compensating for the loss of Anchor's largest client, Paumanock Insurance, which stopped taking on new business in November.

To make matters worse for Anchor, it was being circulated yesterday that it will not be given the contract to manage Paumanock's run-off.

One of the Island's leading insurance executives said yesterday: "We've been told it's definitely not going to be Anchor.'' This would be a slap in cheek for Anchor, which, say sources, could handle the run off more cheaply than outside firms because it is already familiar with the account.

Whether the possible loss of the run-off business would lead to more redundancies at Anchor, which employs 27 people, is not known.

Mr. Robin Spencer-Arscott, who is the local spokesman of both Paumanock and Anchor, is unwilling to discuss the situation.

He has failed to return several telephone messages left by The Royal Gazette over the last two months.