Bank of The Bahamas Chairman Richard C. Demeritte addresses full house at the bank’s annual general meeting December 18.

Nassau, The Bahamas – Bank of The Bahamas (BOB) held its Annual General Meeting today at the British Colonial Hilton, a highly-anticipated event that presented shareholders with positive news and left them with re-assurance that the post-recession challenges are largely behind the Bank.

The meeting of shareholders, bank executives and directors involved a frank discussion of the Bank’s future and included votes on measures critical to the continued implementation of new methods and regimes. Both Chairman Richard Demeritte and Managing Director Paul McWeeney spoke directly to attendees about what changes have already been made, and what will be implemented going forward to streamline the Bank and return it to profit.

“We will continue to work tirelessly to increase shareholder value and return the Bank to a measure of profitability as it had enjoyed for 20 consecutive years before 2012,” said the Chairman.

“We are moving forward and making changes to ensure that Bank of The Bahamas continues to provide the highest quality products to our loyal customers and that the Bank can return to providing the value and returns that our shareholders have historically enjoyed,” said Mr. McWeeney.

They both acknowledged that the past several years have been challenging, and in order to return to profit the Bank will need to make a number of changes.

“We are streamlining our business operations, introducing cost cutting measures, lending smaller amounts with less risk and being prudent with our management,” said Chairman Demeritte. The Bank will be submitting specific recommendations in this regard by the end of 2014.

The AGM also highlighted positive news about the Bank, including that it has welcomed 2,500 new depositors in the last quarter.

“These new depositors along with existing customers will benefit from the Bank’s new focus,” said Mr. Demeritte, who noted the bank will now focus primarily on retail banking, consumer lending and e-banking products.

During the AGM, stakeholders were asked to vote in eight directors to the Board’s 2014 – 2015 term, including Mr. Richard Demeritte, Mr. Eric Gibson Jr., Bishop Roston Davis, Mrs. Donna Harding-Lee, Mr. Don Davis, Ms. Renae Mckay, Mr. Alexander Reckley, and Mr. Errol McKinney.

It was also announced that in the near term the Bank will focus on succession planning as well as intensifying the review of BOB’s current leadership.

Mr. McWeeney spoke on the matter, saying he will be assisting in succession planning activities, including preparations for the Bank’s next Managing Director. Announcements on the timeline for any leadership transitions will be made in due course.

Chairman Demeritte said, “It is of utmost importance for us to take the time and care to plan for the bank’s future leadership in order to be successful and profitable in the long term.”

The meeting closed with Chairman Demeritte sharing that the Bank’s objective is to be profitable again within the next 12 months. “With all of these new measures, we are fully confident that we will return to profitability. It will not be in the next quarter, and may not be in the next several quarters, but we will get there, and our goal is to get there within the next year. We are asking for some space and time to do so.”

Chairman Remarks
Bank of The Bahamas: Annual General Meeting
December 18th, 2014 – 6:00pm

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD, MR. MCWEENEY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. AND THANK YOU TO ALL MEMBERS OF THE BOARD FOR YOUR COMMITMENT AND ENDURANCE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR. YOU HAVE WORKED DILIGENTLY TO PLACE THIS BANK AND ITS REPUTATION BACK ON TRACK WITHOUT ANY RESERVATIONS.

MY REMARKS WILL FOCUS ON SUCCESSION PLANNING FOR THE BANK, AS WELL AS THE BANK’S FORWARD PLAN TO RETURN TO PROFITABILITY.

AS NOTED, PAUL MCWEENEY HAS LED THE BANK TO OVER 20 YEARS OF CONSECUTIVE PROFIT. HE HAS BEEN A MAJOR FORCE WITHIN THE BANK, ESPECIALLY WITH HIS DETERMINATION OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, WHEN THE IMPACT OF THE GLOBAL RECESSION CAUSED SOME OF THE BANKS COMMERCIAL BORROWERS TO HAVE DIFFICULTIES MAKING THEIR PAYMENTS.

HE ACTED TO RESTRUCTURE INTERNALLY TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES, AND WORKED WITH THE GOVERNMENT AND THE CENTRAL BANK ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RESOLVE, WHICH GREATLY HELPED THE BANK AND INCREASED VALUE TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS.

MR. MCWEENEY’S LEADERSHIP AS WELL THE LEADERSHIP OF ALL OUR EXECUTIVES, WILL BE EVEN MORE IMPORTANT GOING FORWARD AS WE CONTINUE TO TAKE DECISIVE MEASURES TO TURN THE BANK AROUND AND SET UP OUR FUTURE LEADERSHIP FOR SUCCESS.

OVER THE NEAR TERM, THE BOARD HAS TAKEN A CONSCIOUS DECISION TO FOCUS ON SUCCESSION PLANNING BY INTENSIFYING THE REVIEW OF BOB’S CURRENT LEADERSHIP. WE WILL REVIEW ALL EXECUTIVE POSITIONS AS PART OF THIS EXERCISE. AND I STRESS, ALL EXECUTIVE POSITIONS AS WELL AS LOOKING FOR EXTERNAL TALENT.

IT IS OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO US TO TAKE THE TIME AND CARE TO PLAN FOR THE BANK’S FUTURE LEADERSHIP, INCLUDING FOR OUR NEXT MANAGING DIRECTOR, IN ORDER TO BE SUCCESSFUL AND PROFITABLE IN THE LONG TERM.
TOGETHER, WE ARE MAKING THE NECESSARY CHANGES TO RETURN TO PROFIT.

THE BOARD ALONG WITH MR. MCWEENEY ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WILL BE PRESENTED BEFORE THE END OF 2014. THESE RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE OUR ROADMAP FOR RETURNING TO PROFITABILITY – AN OBJECTIVE WE HOPE TO REACH WITHIN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS.

WE ARE STREAMLINING OUR BUSINESS OPERATIONS, INTRODUCING COST CUTTING MEASURES, LENDING SMALLER AMOUNTS WITH LESS RISK AND BEING PRUDENT WITH OUR MANAGEMENT.