Remarks by
Geraldine Lendor-Gabriel,
First Vice-President of
1 st National Bank’s
Board of Directors
Good evening, ladies and
gentlemen. Tonight is really a
very special night for the Board
of 1 st National Bank. Sometime in
2016, whilst going through a credit
assessment report, we identified
that critical institutions – small
and medium enterprises – were
under stress. At that point, we said
there’s something we needed to do.
We are not bankers, but we really
care about the development of
this country. That led us to say to
management that we want to see
something happen.
I cannot tell you, at the time, that
there was a lot of excitement
around it. But sometime in 2016,
something happened. The German
International Bank for Co-operation
came on board and a light came up
once more.
There’s something very good
about tonight. As I looked
to my back, I saw the poster
saying, “Think Globally, Act
Locally”. Really and truly, what is
happening here is exactly what
the forefathers of 1 st National
Bank – then known as the St. Lucia
Co-operative Bank – believed in:
that of giving Saint Lucians and
small businesses the opportunity
to prosper. So you being here is
testimony to the fact that we have
not lost our vision.
The Caribbean Development
Bank actually carried out a study
sometime in 2015 and were able
to determine that at least 70% of
the GDP (gross domestic product)
of Caribbean countries come out
of small and medium enterprises.
What that signals is the fact that
these institutions are critical
to our development. But most
importantly, these institutions
actually employ vulnerable people.
These institutions will give women
the opportunity to get into the
marketplace. At this point in time,
about 65% of women in Saint Lucia
work, whereas 76% of men do.