Fidelity Bank has made four staff redundant as it undergoes reorganisation and rebranding following its acquisition by PROVEN Group earlier this year.
Based on changes to its operating model, the bank said some Caymanian staff members were awarded promotions, while others were made redundant.
”Regrettably, some positions were separated as the roles no longer existed and will not be replaced,” the bank said in a press release.
“Due process and care were taken as staff members were respectfully met with and thanked for their long service to the company. Affected staff members were all provided with payments significantly above statutory requirements including employment assistance and healthcare.”
In an interview with the Cayman Compass, CEO Benjamin Freeman explained that the new structure moved from branch-based operations to creating bank-wide sales team led by Linval Johnson, who will be the head of the bank’s consumer sales group.
Together with moving the bank’s retail activities from Fidelity Financial Centre to Dr. Roy’s Drive, this consolidation meant that the four positions were eliminated.
Freeman said it was a hard decision to make, particularly because it involved long-standing employees. “I did it because I thought it was best for the future of the company,” he said.
The bank is going through an organisational transformation as it moves from its former arrangement with Fidelity Bahamas to operate and manage autonomously within the Cayman Islands.
Fidelity is now PROVEN Bank
The bank was acquired on 1 Feb. this year by Jamaica-based private equity firm PROVEN Group.
As of 1 Aug., Fidelity has been renamed PROVEN Bank, with a new visual identity.
Services previously administered from the Bahamas will move to a shared services centre that will be partly in Jamaica and partly virtual. Some activities, like loan administration and some loan adjudication, will move to Cayman.
Freeman said, “PROVEN Bank (Cayman) is committed to the Cayman community and will continue to provide excellent sustained employment opportunities for the Cayman people.
“As such, all day-to-day customer interactions and decisions remain local including credit, customer service and onboarding.”
He said as part of the PROVEN Group, staff will have further career development opportunities both inside and outside of Cayman and the bank will invest in education and training.
In addition to new branding, the transformation will include investments in infrastructure, together with plans to deliver a more customer-focused service offering.
This means, for instance, that when customers want a new loan, most credit decisions are made on island. Freeman said having a personal interaction in banking relationships matters, adding, “I think we have a competitive advantage by being local.”
PROVEN Bank’s shareholders are also going to invest in a new banking system that will allow for more automated processing.
And PROVEN Group will support the bank’s business development through its extensive business ties both in Jamaica and Cayman.
Freeman said, this was reflected in the bank doubling its mortgage pipeline and growing personal loans by 10% in the last three months alone.
The bank’s CEO noted that despite rising interest rates, there is still a lot of demand from people moving to Cayman, especially in the high-end segment for mortgages ranging from $1 million to $3 million.
“That being said, we want to do business with local first-time homebuyers, but that’s really what we’re seeing right now,” he said.
While the bank is focused on development, there is strong demand on the commercial lending side of the business for anything from bridge loans to credit lines, he added.
As part of the bank’s reorganisation, the West Bay Road location is being refitted to house its corporate and private banking businesses. The ATM located there remains available as the branch will not be permanently closed.
At the Dr. Roy’s branch, Friday’s opening hours are extended to 6pm, with a larger number of tellers to accommodate additional traffic.
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