1st National Bank (St. Lucia) Ltd. has launched its first customer-driven public activity to mark its 85th Anniversary: making it possible for customers – and anyone else who qualifies – to improve or better their mobility through easier access to vehicle ownership.
Established in 1938 as the St. Lucia Cooperative Bank (Co-op Bank), 1st National Bank nurtured its birth pangs through and survived the Second World War (1939-45) as the first indigenous local bank, providing opportunities for Saint Lucians to open their first bank account with only a penny (two cents).
During that period the bank also made it possible for ordinary citizens of the then colony to empower themselves by being able to save their earnings and bank their liquid cash.
And when the 1948 Fire destroyed the Castries commercial center, it was again the ‘Penny Bank’ that provided loans to help local businesses rebuild and re-start.
On June 24, 2004 – 25 years after Independence in 1979 — the Penny Bank got formal certification to change the bank’s name from St. Lucia Cooperative Bank to 1st National Bank Saint Lucia Limited.
The bank has grown with the times — and by the turn of the century was into the new phase of IT and global banking, hosting workshops and seminars for bankers and customers in everything from Crypto Currency Banking to implications of the Decriminalization of Marijuana for movement of currencies between states.
Having scored many ‘firsts’ in its first eight-and-a-half decades, 1st National is also the first and only bank to have purchased two regional banks’ local operations and assets in the past two years.
It’s also the first local bank to have nine branches, including abroad in neighboring St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
This weekend, the 1st National bank launches its first 85th anniversary observance activity with an interesting ‘Car Show’ today at the Beausejour Promenade in Gros Islet, where potential customers can secure a vehicle, not only with a loan, but also with all the necessary added information on how to keep their new possession as a valuable asset.
Today’s ‘Car Show’ – from 9am to 3pm – will offer potential customers on-site consultations with local professionals in the lending business, car dealers, insurance experts and mechanics.
And with interest rates floating globally at between 5% and 7% in developed nations (where they had remained at zero up to a year ago) 1st National Bank is making its car loans available today at 4.75%.
1st National Bank’s Managing Director Fletcher St. Jean says: “This is the bank’s first post-COVID pandemic car show and the first in a series of activities to mark our first 85 years as Saint Lucia’s first and only indigenous national bank.”
He adds: “We’ve always been proud to be there for our customers and clients and Saint Lucians can continue to count on us always ‘Being there for you’, including now when mobility is even more important in an age of increasing need for everything from punctuality to quick delivery over long distances in the shortest possible time.”
The MD says the car show “is only the first” of the activities the bank plans to commemorate its 85th year.