“If Not Us,
Then Who?”
Johnathan Johannes, 1 st National Bank’s
Managing Director, shares his thoughts
on the unveiling of the bank’s new
MSME Competency Unit
By Stan Bishop
SLYOU Business Magazine: We
understand that the launch of
this MSME Competency Unit will
revolutionize the marketplace,
especially for small businesses that
have been struggling to get the
much-needed financing they need.
Aside from everything else that
1 st National Bank is doing already,
why do you think you needed to
dedicate a special unit for MSMEs?
Johnathan Johannes: If not us,
then who? That’s the question we
always ask ourselves, and it goes
back 82 years. We were founded
to help Saint Lucians achieve their
aspirations and get a better life
for themselves and their families
and build a legacy. This is just a
continuation of what we’ve done
over the last 18 months to two
years.
It also goes back to our
indigenous roots in helping
people and contributing to the
betterment of their lives. I think
it’s in our DNA. So for us at 1 st
National Bank, we jumped at
the opportunity to help create a
stronger and more vibrant MSME
sector.
Like the statistics indicate, I also
believe that small businesses
drive economics. The one piece
of evidence I turn to is that every
developing country has a vibrant
and strong MSME sector and you
can link economic prosperity to
the prosperity of that sector. So
if we need to drive economic
prosperity in our corners of the
world, why not follow that model
and build a strong MSME sector?
We have seen Canadian banks
leave our region and other foreign
banks enter our zone, but nothing
ties them to it. As an indigenous
bank, we are invested here and
firmly rooted and want to see our
people prosper.
56 SL-YOU | It’s All About Business
2020
SLYOU Business Magazine: So it’s
indeed a special moment, no doubt.
What are some of the things that
stood out for you from the launch?
Johannes: Commerce Minister
Bradly Felix spoke about the ease
of doing business and access
to financing. While there are
lots of factors that go into your
Ease of Doing Business score,
as a commercial bank, the ease
of opening and establishing an
account and the ease of access to
finance also weigh heavily on my
heart. I think we have addressed
one of those problems: access to
finance.
It’s hard enough for an MSME to
have to deal with things like ‘Can
I keep the lights on?’, ‘Can I keep
the payroll going?’ or ‘How do
I respond to more established
competitors?’ These are some
of the questions we sought to
address with the launch of this
MSME Competency Unit.
www.slyoumag.com | February - April