Bankers Association celebrates 40th anniversary

28-11-2018

Five past presidents of the Cayman Islands Bankers Association joined current CIBA President Michael Halsey and members of the business community to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Association this month.

The event was held at the George Town Yacht Club and featured a lively presentation by Past President Eduardo Silva, who took attendees down memory lane, detailing when the Association was formed and how it had promoted and supported the banking industry over the years.

To illustrate how Cayman had changed in 40 years, Silva outlined that when the Bankers Association was first formed in 1979 there were just 16, 677 people living in the Cayman Islands.

“There were 5,600 cars and vehicles in general, but the police reported 560 accidents and twelve hundred traffic offences. What that means, on average, 10 percent of the vehicles were involved in an accident and more than 20 percent, in a traffic offence. If you complain about the traffic today, these numbers should give you some relief!” he pointed out.

Silva said the announcement of the formation of the Bankers Association was reported in the Caymanian Compass on the front page of the 29 May 1979 edition, which said that Royan Ellis, manager of the Bank of Nova Scotia Trust Company, was elected the Bankers’ Association first president.

Forty years ago, the prime objective of the Association was to foster study courses for the training of bank staff, Silva said. Over time, those objectives have been added to and now include representing the common interests of members and furthering Cayman’s good image as a financial centre, along with continuing to promote training of banking staff.

Silva highlighted many of the CIBA’s achievements over the years, including hosting a prestigious conference every two years, an annual dinner and honouring the significant accomplishments of financial services staff members.

He completed his presentation by saying: “CIBA is 40 years young, and the best is yet to come!”

Cayman Islands Bankers Association, Michael Halsey, 40 years, Cayman Islands

Cayman Funds