The National Commercial Bank of Anguilla (NCBA), formed three years ago, following the insolvency of the National Bank of Anguilla and the Caribbean Commercial Bank, is still a bridge bank. But the vision is for it to become the leading commercial bank in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and, so far, NCBA is doing very well towards that end.
That view was expressed by the newly-appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the bank, Ms. Sharmaine Francois, a national of St. Lucia, who assumed her post in Anguilla on August 12, 2019. She told The Anguillian newspaper, in an interview on Tuesday, August 20, that her aim, in conjunction with the Board, Staff and the people of Anguilla, is to grow NCBA to achieve its full potential as a competitive and full commercial bank.
“The stage that NCBA is at is still a bridge bank. As an institution, we have to look at ways of getting it out of the bridge bank status,” she said. “There are a number of fundamental things to address in terms of our capital ratios, performance and making the bank profitable. For me, it is to look at how we can grow the institution. Explore viable opportunities to grow the balance sheet and generate new income.
“We have to look at our loan campaigns, and our products and services, to ensure that we are meeting our customers’ needs. So it is really going to be a growth strategy going forward – and to develop keen initiatives to meet the strategy that we establish. It will not be business as usual. We have a very good team of people on board, and we are to set ourselves some goals and targets to ensure that we meet the different benchmarks that we need to. As I said, one of our goals is to remove us from bridge status, by improving the banks financial fundamentals.”
Asked about her reliance on the Board of Directors to accomplish her vision, Ms. Francois, who succeeded the former NCBA CEO, Mr. Michael Bird, replied: “The Boardprovides oversight of the bank such as setting the policy framework and broad strategy. The role of the CEO, and the rest of the team, is to execute the strategies and policies. The Board plays a very significant role to ensure that the institution continues.”
The Anguillian newspaper suggested to her that, in growing NCBA, there might also be a need to increase the number of employees to perform the additional services occasioned by its growth. “The staffing number is roughly around 90 employees,” she stated. “Growth will not come overnight, but as our institution grows we will definitely have to look at staff numbers. However, it is not something I can speak to today.”
Ms. Francois was asked how she saw NCBA, Anguilla’s only national bank, operating in a situation where FirstCaribbean International Bank had left the island – and Scotiabank is on its way out, to be replaced by the Republic Bank of Trinidad. “I see it is an excellent opportunity for NCBA,” she observed. “Right now there is an opportunity for us to grow our market share with the customers from FirstCaribbean, and we have seen a lot of growth over the last couple of months. There is a huge opportunity for us to grow as an institution, and I am excited about that.”
On the question of NCBA having a corresponding bank to handle its international business transactions, the CEO explained: “We are in a good position now. After we lost Bank of America, we were able to take on a new relationship with the Crown Agents Bank. We have had our issues in the early part of the relationship, but now our wire transfers are completed within a day. The Crown Agents handle all our US transfers in and out – and we also have Natwest Bank that handles our UK transfers. Yes, we would like to have a US corresponding bank so that we can negotiate US drafts on behalf of our customers. Once we get that, we can re-offer of the service to our clients.”
Speaking about other challenges to surmount, Ms. Francois told The Anguillian: “One of the biggest things is investor confidence which we will have to continue building on. Even as we develop our strategy going forward, we have to build on the NCBA brand so that Anguillians can reach a point where they feel confident that NCBA is there for the long term. Confidence building will really be one of the key focus areas.
“We have new regulations imposed on banks and that impacts the cost of doing business – not just NCBA – but for banks globally. In addition, the derisking strategy of international correspondent banks has increased cost of compliance. Growth remains elusive, costs are proving hard to contain and ROEs remain stubbornly low. “Our economies have not been performing at the levels we would like but notwithstanding that, as an institution we have to see where the opportunities are to leverage on them.
Looking again at the future of NCBA, Ms. Francois stated: “The focus will be more on business development, and developing a culture of sales to drive growth. We, at NCBA, have come through a difficult path, with three years into that resolution process, which is in its final stages. We now have to change gears, and focus on how we should take this institution from where it is today to becoming a profitable entity, with strong fundamentals. It is a tall order but it is achievable. We have a good team and a loyal customer base.”
Responding to an observation by The Anguillian that NCBA is often crowded by residents and other persons doing business, the CEO stated: “I think Anguillians believe in their local bank despite all that has happened with the two legacy banks. It is a good feeling for the Management and Staff. Especially over the last financial year, we have seen a lot of growth in new deposits, new accounts and there are a lot of Anguillians establishing relationships with NCBA. As I indicated, that has helped with our liquidity because we can now go out there and give loans to viable businesses and individuals.
“I want to see more construction happening on the island, both in terms of home construction and commercial enterprise. A lot of that liquidity can go back into the economy to boost economic activity. We have to set targets for loans to Anguillians and that will be my role to ensure that we set the growth targets. It is being said that we are not giving loans. We want to change that, but we still have to balance it in terms of ensuring that when we make loans the proper underwritings and assessments are done to safeguard the bank.”
Asked what message NCBA, and its new CEO, would like to convey to the people of Anguilla, Ms. Francois replied: “For me, personally, my mandate is to see, as part of our vision, that NCBA becomes the leading commercial bank in the OECS by 2025 and NCBA can achieve this goal. I believe we can achieve that goal once we get the continued support from the Anguillian community. I think the bank is well-positioned to achieve its goal – we have a committed and hardworking team, strong shareholder support and a strong Board of Directors.”
She added: “As CEO, my objective is to develop the Anguillian community by giving back, as part of our corporate social responsibility. One of the key things that I am going to look at is to start an education drive because I believe an educated community, on financial matters, loans and investing, will help us as we grow the bank. In closing the CEO reiterated that NCBA is poised for growth – we have a committed Staff and a committed Board and together, with our customers, we can achieve our vision.”
Further information, in terms of the career, achievements, education and other personal details about NCBA’s new CEO, has been provided in a press release issued by the Bank’s Board of Directors. That release is published elsewhere in this edition of The Anguillian newspaper.
