by Devonne Cornelius
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN) — The Bank of Nevis Limited is now open for business at the Circus in Basseterre and at Wellington Road branches on St Kitts.
General Manager Everette Martin, of the Bank of Nevis Limited, at a grand opening ceremony on Tuesday, April 06, 2021, at 7:15 a.m. at the Circus, Fort Street, Basseterre, St. Kitts described the opening as a joyous and momentous occasion.
“Over 35 years ago, the first Premier of Nevis, and National Hero the Rt. Excellent Sir. Dr. Simeon Daniel established the Bank of Nevis Limited.” General Manager Martin said “The Bank was created out of a desire to improve the quality of life for the people of Nevis, however, over the years, the Bank has not only expanded to become recognized in the federation but as an internationally recognized institution…” adding that “We stand on the shoulders of those visionaries who created this institution…Today’s historic event is indeed the culmination of a journey. A journey that has been embodied in the strategic vision of the Bank of Nevis Limited for many years.”
On December 11, 2019, the Bank of Nevis Limited as part of a consortium of indigenous banks including First National Bank of St. Lucia, Antigua Commercial Bank, National Bank of Dominica Limited, and Bank of Montserrat signed an agreement to purchase the eastern Caribbean banking operations of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (RBTT).
The sale was expected to close in July 2020 but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the transaction closed on April 01, 2021.
As part of the transaction, the Bank of Nevis Limited has now acquired the RBC St. Kitts banking operations with 96 percent of the shares of RBTT Nevis.
“As we enter this exciting chapter in the history of the Bank of Nevis Limited, we assure all our loyal and valued customers that we will continue to endeavor to deliver quality and innovative products and services.”
Mr. Martin said adding that “we would have wished to communicate earlier with our customers but due to the agreements with RBC we were restricted from contacting customers, however, customers can expect to receive communication from us over the coming days and weeks”.
Premier of Nevis and Minister of Finance, the Hon. Mark Brantley was also present at the grand opening ceremony.
“Today, I want to take the few moments allotted to me to look at this in its historical context. Why? Because it was some 35 years ago that a man from Barnes Ghaut in Nevis called Sir Simeon Daniel had the idea that Nevis should have a bank. And so what did he do? I’m told that he called 10 of his friends, and he said “can each of you put up $25,000.00 so that we can get to $250,000.00, and through that mechanism seek to establish the Bank of Nevis Limited.”
The Bank of Nevis Limited officially opened its doors on December 09, 1985, with a staff of five, and capital of approximately $250,000. Today, the bank’s capital resources have grown to more than $82.3 million and total assets to more than 522.5 million.
The cutting of the ribbon was done by Lady Sheila Daniel, wife of the late Rt. Excellent Dr. Sir. Simeon Daniel with the assistance of the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris.
