1st National Bank Saint Lucia Limited is waxing warm over the successful start of operations of its first overseas branch – in neighboring Saint Vincent & The Grenadines – which has earned A-plus marks at the start of its tenure as the latest regional commercial bank offering community services to the Vincentian market.
Six months ago, the first national indigenous bank’s Rodney Bay headquarters embarked on a two-phase assessment and coordination process that involved two visits to Kingstown by separate delegations.
In May, a delegation led by Chairman of the Board of Directors Nigel Fulgence initiated the first part of the final phase of the acquisition of Vincentian assets of the former RBTT Bank.
The first delegation, which also included Managing Director Fletcher St. Jean, met local management, staff and other stakeholders, including regulators and government officials, to discuss the oversight and penetration strategy relative to the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines market.
They also went over to register the headquarters’ commitment to the staff and customers of its first overseas branch.
Four months later, having considered the findings of the May mission, a follow-up delegation – led by 1st National Bank’s Deputy Managing Director Sandra Fontenelle – returned to Kingstown to cement the final administrative and other related business and management transactions.
The mission engaged with local management, staff and other key stakeholders from September 26 to 29.
Deputy MD Fontenelle was highly-praiseworthy of the local management and staff, especially Country Manager Vonetta Rodgers and Corporate Manager Lois Friday, who she described as the new branch’s “Team Leaders on the ground…”
She said the second mission was “to help our Vincentian Team Leaders continue to deliver on the bank’s strategic objectives for our customer service there…”
Ms Fontenelle added, “We are exceedingly proud of the progress made so far, as this is our first overseas investment.”
She continued, “As a good northern neighbour and in keeping with the new times, we looked south to start our first venture into the regional market.”
Ms Fontenelle said the mission “allowed us to improve approaches to offering the best services to the new market, especially as it continues to rebound from the after effects of COVID-19 and its Supply Chain problems, the national damage done by the recent volcano and the external economic effects across the Caribbean, of the continuing war in Ukraine.”
She also noted that the multi-island state is “well-placed for a tourism uplift with the advancing construction of the local branch of the world’s leading and fastest-growing Caribbean luxury hotel chain, while local tourism, manufacturing and other businesses are also expanding their horizons at home and abroad.”
The Deputy MD said, “All these old and new Vincentian businesses, as well as the new and old service providers, also include the growing number of innovators turning their dreams and hobbies into jobs and paychecks.”
Ms Fontenelle added, “The one thing they all will always require, need and depend-on heavily in these fast-changing times in the regional and international banking industry, is the best available reliable customer service, and that’s what we offer from a staff that’s adapted to meet the new needs and challenges.”
She pointed out, “1st National Bank is Saint Lucia’s first and only indigenous national bank and the first too, to establish a brand-new overseas branch…
“With 85 years of uninterrupted service to our customers through a world war and depressions and the fires and floods that followed from 1938, we were always the first available to help our local commercial sector revive and recover…”
The Deputy MD added, “It is this eight-and-a-half decade of service that we are taking to the Vincentian market…
“And we are satisfied that Country Manager Rodgers and Corporate Manager Friday are continuing to lead our team in the right direction, towards the progressive, customer-driven local bank with global connections that today’s investors, businesses and private individuals, institutions and active entities look-forward to and verily need.”
She concluded, “I am sure we’re on the right track!”
1st National Bank’s Chairman of the Board Nigel Fulgence is also pleased with the developments in the neighboring OECS member-state.
St. Jean says the bank’s Executive Team is “especially proud that our new St. Vincent & The Grenadines Branch is up and running…”
He added that the May and September Missions from Saint Lucia “were important factors in helping open the way to forge our brand in our first new overseas branch” and added, “We are therefore determined to succeed from this bold and fresh start to delivering our services to Vincentians and businesses, as well as new start-up and visionary businesses over there, like we do here in Saint Lucia.”
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Board of Directors Fulgence says he’s “glad that our visionary moves in earlier times, including during COVID-19, are paying dividends today.”
The chairman said 1st National Bank’s executives and leadership team “have always been confident that our decisions to acquire competitive assets and investing and expanding into the regional market were correct; and we’re proud that these wise investments are already paying-off…”
Chairman Fulgence says he’s also pleased about “our creation of a new team out of the experienced staff, who are now introducing the Vincentian market to our branded theme of ‘Always being there first…’ to serve our customers in all circumstances.”
He adds, “We’ve done it for 85 years in Saint Lucia and we’re now laying-out all of that accumulated experience through our patented approach to always bettering our business services to suit and meet whatever changes and challenges we face.”
The Chairman further says, “Saint Lucia has lived that fruitful experience for the past eight-and-a-half decades with and through the St. Lucia Cooperative Bank Ltd. and 1st National Bank – and now we’re proud to share it all, in full, with the Government and People, Public and Private Sectors, and all of Saint Vincent & The Grenadines.”