Republic Bank wins Bank of the Year Award again

Barbados, December 8th, 2017 – Republic Bank has done it again, winning its second straight “Bank of the Year” award.

The announcement of the 2017 award following a similar triumph in 2016 came from The Banker – the Financial Times’ gold standard for reporting on the international banking industry. The award was received in the wake of Republic Bank’s appointment of new Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Anthony Clerk as successor to Mr. Ian De Souza.

The Banker Magazine in its assessment, said that having set itself targets in three strategic areas – cost containment, employee engagement and customer service delivery – Republic Bank in 2016 registered improvements in all three, while growing net profits by 10 percent to BBD $38.3m ($19.2m).

A delighted Mr. Clerk said the award was a tribute to the dedicated employees of Republic Bank.
“I am honoured and privileged to lead an incredibly committed and professional team without which this accolade for the second consecutive year could not be possible. This award belongs to the 520 employees of Republic Bank Barbados who live our Core Values which place our customers at the centre of all that we do.”

The new CEO said it had been an all-round outstanding performance by Republic Bank.
“Consistently for the past four years the Bank has remained the leader in customer service delivery and satisfaction; our employee engagement score is at 72 percent, the highest it has ever been, and five percent higher than the group benchmark.”

Clarke said also key to Republic Bank’s success had been its cost containment measures and strategies to generally improve efficiency. He said the Bank would continue to focus on building its human capital and technological capabilities.
“Our opportunities remain in the provision of exemplary service and the benefits of true old fashioned relationship banking, both retail and corporate. We intend to continue to improve our human capital, build technological capabilities in this digital era to better service market and business demands while managing the cost of operations.”

The Banker’s eighteenth annual “Bank of the Year” awards were presented at a gala black-tie dinner held on November 29th at the Hilton London Bankside. Entrants were asked to provide comprehensive data on earnings, assets and Tier 1 capital growth, and returns on equity. The Banker said its editorial team also looked for evidence of banks setting new standards for local industries, including using new technology or coming up with innovative, cost-efficient ways of expanding their businesses.