Basseterre, St. Kitts (May 19, 2016) — The Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis has come of age. Come Sunday May 22, the institution whose headquarters are at the corner of Church and Central Streets in Basseterre will be celebrating its 35th Anniversary.
“This is a momentous occasion for us at the Development Bank which was created by an Act of Parliament in 1981 with a mandate to develop the country,” said Development Bank’s General Manager Mr Lenworth Harris.
“We made a monumental commitment to help build a better St, Kitts and Nevis. The journey has been eventful and rewarding to both our clients and our staff and overall for the country after thirty-five years.”
Development Bank’s forerunner was the defunct Development and Finance Corporation (DFC) whose mandate and scope were limited, and hence the formation by an Act of Parliament on May 22, 1981 of the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis with Mr Ivan DeGrasse as its interim General Manager.
After a short stint as the interim General Manager, Mr DeGrasse was replaced by Mr Auckland Hector in January 1982. There was change of guard in October 2006, when the current General Manager, Mr Lenworth Harris, took over the running of this home-grown financial institution.
“We have had a positive impact through our contribution in the Bank’s mandated sectors of our economy, namely medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs), housing for the lower middle income and lower income and Education loans for the development of the nation’s human resources,” said the General Manager.
He pointed out that in the last ten years the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis would have disbursed in excess of $440 million into the economy to fund projects in its mandated sectors of human resource development, housing, agriculture and other business developments.
“Thus far we have come,” said Mr Harris. “We see this as a chance to say thanks, celebrate the future, and renew our commitment to help every Kittitian, Nevisian and resident prosper for the next 35 years.”
It is for that reason the anniversary is being observed under the theme, ‘Celebrating 35 years of service and progress to the Federation: We have made a Difference’.
A number of activities will be observed, the first of which will be a Thanksgiving Service to be held on Sunday May 22 (the day of the anniversary) at the Moravian Church in Mansion starting at 9:30 am, to be followed with a lunch for board and staff members at the Ottley’s Plantation Inn.
Other activities will include a Customer Appreciation Day on Tuesday May 24 at both the head office and at the branch office at the Ward Building in Stoney Grove, Nevis, on the Island Main Road.
The Bank will be embracing its clients to showcase what the combined force of the bank and its clients is doing to grow the Federation’s economy through all-day Business Fairs that will be held at the Independence Square in Basseterre and at the Villa Grounds in Charlestown on Friday May 27.
The staff and members of their families will on Saturday May 28 take part in a health walk from the third round-about in Frigate Bay to Major’s Bay in the South-Eastern Peninsula. They have done this before and they are eagerly looking forward to it.
Activities to mark the anniversary celebration will come to a closure after Saturday June 4 with a Fun Day for board and staff members and their families that will be held at the Frigate Bay Pasture.
“We have made a difference in the social, and economic landscape of our glorious Federation and we are proud of it,” concluded Development Bank’s General Manager Mr Harris. “This has been made possible by the trust the public has placed in the institution and its hard working team. We can only do better in the next 35 years.”