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“Nothing is off the table” in conducting business – NBVI Board Chairman

- Says access to capital has been 'a challenging environment'
December 17th, 2012 | Tags: NBVI capital stakeholders loans services
The Norbert "Fix It" Wheatly building which now serves as the new home of the NBVI. Photo:VINO
Chairman of the NBVI, Mr Clarence Faulkner, said nothing was off the table as it relates to how the bank does business. Photo: VINO/File
Chairman of the NBVI, Mr Clarence Faulkner, said nothing was off the table as it relates to how the bank does business. Photo: VINO/File
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of the Virgin Islands, Mr Clarence Faulkner is assuring stakeholders that the bank is adequately capitalised, but emphasised that the bank is never at a point where it is “just sitting back comfortably”.

While noting that the bank would be aggressively seeking capital from various sources, he stated “The bank is at a stage in its career right now where… nothing is off the table as it relates to how we do business, because we will compete.”

With regard to the naming of a new Managing Director of the NBVI, the Board Chairman related that the process was currently at the interview stage.

“We aim to deliver all the services that the clients deem necessary for them to fulfill their financial goals.” Chairman Faulkner added that the intent of the bank was to advance its traditional development type services of savings, basic deposits, loans and commercial loans through checking accounts, commercial (savings) accounts, wire transfers, electronic banking and ATMs, but emphasised that there would be more services coming on stream in future.

“Obviously over the last couple of years we have been limited by the range of services that we can provide,” he noted, “what we aim to do now after we've been licensed, is to now broaden those range of services.”

The Board Chairman explained that the bank’s mission has also changed over the years in terms of the services it provides primarily; the bank, he revealed, was now subject to a tougher regulatory regime whereby it now “has to become compliant, [it] has to adhere to the banking trust laws [and has to]adhere to the money laundering laws…”

He further expressed that the bank’s challenge going forward would be access to capital, “once we can access capital… as a relatively cheap rate, then we’re obviously going to be a lot more flexible in terms of the transactions that we’re able to do with individuals.”

According to the Chairman, the bank wants to ensure it remains competitive; this would be from the standpoint where the sole purpose of the bank is not about driving profit margins but rather in the way of enhancing lives. The bank will ensure that it gains some sort of profit, “but the profit is primarily driven in terms of turning the assets over, so that we can eventually continue doing what we do.”

Based on his initial discussions with the government as shareholders, he added, profit (or dividends) “is not a major priority.”

Looking at the overall economic situation locally and on the global stage, he again noted that “access to capital to everyone has been a challenging environment”; from this perspective, he continued, the bank’s focus is accommodating individuals from the viewpoint that ensures that the bank would be able to provide access to capital for persons trying to do business or build their first home in a fashion that doesn’t create additional challenges for them.

Once the economic situation turns around, the Chairman added, these customers would eventually form a long lasting relationship with the bank.

The bank’s administrative role in providing student loans in support of the scholarship trust fund board remains intact; however Mr Faulkner stated, “what needs to happen now is an aggressive campaign for students to know that there is an opportunity for them to access funding for scholarships…”

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