Fidelity Bank (Cayman) Ltd. honoured Sir Vassel Johnson by naming its banking hall after him in a dedication ceremony last Thursday.
Sir Vassel, the only Caymanian to date to receive knighthood, joined Fidelity Bank’s board of directors in 1983 when the institution was known as First Home Bank.
The 83-year-old Sir Vassel attended the dedication with his wife Lady Rita.
Many distinguished guests attended the ceremony for the man sometimes known as the father of Cayman’s financial services industry.
‘You have been an integral part of the growth and positioning of the Cayman Islands as a major financial centre,’ Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts told Sir Vassel. ‘As a country, we can not thank you enough for your contributions.’
Sir Vassel served as the Cayman Islands Financial Secretary for 17 years starting in 1965, and then as a Member of the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Member from 1984 through 1988.
All together, Sir Vassel was in the Cayman Islands civil service for 42 years.
Mr. Tibbetts said he watched Sir Vassel from afar when he was younger and noticed he always had a calm demeanour.
Financial Secretary Kenneth Jefferson also commented on Sir Vassel’s diplomatic skills.
‘…It required diplomacy to successfully propose the development of an offshore financial industry, and only a master of diplomacy could subsequently achieve success in lobbying the British Treasury in the 1960s to uphold Cayman’s fledgling offshore financial services industry once exchange control application was approved,’ he said.
Chairman of the Fidelity Group Anwer Sunderji recounted Sir Vassel’s words during difficult negotiations in London.
‘Sir Vassel… is quoted as saying ‘The fact that I had not gone to university was a drawback with certain professionals who looked down on me, but it didn’t matter if they looked down on me or looked up to me. I knew what I wanted to say and they had to fall in line’.’
‘Well, over the last 22 years, all of us on the board knew that when Sir Vassel spoke, we had better listen and fall in line, which we did with remarkable alacrity,’ Mr. Sunderji said.
Fidelity board member and former bank president Leonard Ebanks called Sir Vassel his mentor and friend.
‘Sir Vassel has been, and continues to be, an important and very special member of our organisation, and though he has taken a less active role in recent years, he continues to serve as director emeritus,’ he said.
Mr. Ebanks announced Fidelity was also committing to a financial award known as ‘The Fidelity Sir Vassel Johnson Award of Merit’.
The annual $10,000 award will be presented to a Caymanian Scholar selected by the government Education Council.
Sir Vassel’s daughter, Tessa Bodden spoke on her father’s behalf. She thanked Fidelity for the honour.
‘It will serve as a daily reminder to the people of the Cayman Islands,’ she said.
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