Cayman National board fires 15-year president
Ormond Williams
(CNS) UPDATED: The president and chief executive of Cayman National Corporation, Stuart Dack, has said that the termination of Ormond Williams, who has been the president of Cayman National Bank for more than 15 years, was a decision by the CNB board of directors and was unrelated to the potential sale of a majority shareholding to the Republic Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (Barbados) Ltd. Dack told CNS that he could not say more about the fact that the bank and Williams had “parted company” as Williams had decided to seek legal advice about his termination.
However, Dack sought to damp down fears that the jobs of other members of staff at CNB were on the line if Republic acquires the 74.9% shareholding it seeks, pointing to the agreement that current staffing would remain for five years after the sale.
But he said that the sale to Republic was still subject to government and regulatory approval, which could be some weeks away. “It’s not a done deal,” he said, stressing that Williams departure had nothing to do with this potential sale.
Dack stated that the potential transaction was “not a takeover” but a sale of shares, which was agreed at a shareholders meeting last month. At this meeting, Dack told shareholders that, as part of the process of the sale to Republic, they had given assurances that they would leave things, such as staff and the bank’s board of directors, as they are for five years.
At a second meeting earlier this month, shareholders agreed to amend the firm’s constitution, which previously ensured that no single person or entity could own more than 10% of shares.
In an official statement from CNC, Dack wished Williams well, saying, “During his time with Cayman National, Ormond has been the leader of CNB and accomplished much during his tenure.”
Category: Banking & money, Business
Some brief thoughts on leadership
The role of a leader is to establish a vision, set direction and inspire others. A leader needs to be able to understand what matters and to articulate why. Leadership is not about one’s title, seniority or ability to exert power and control. Instead, leaders cultivate a desire in those they lead to strive towards a common objective in an inclusive and respectful manner.
I hope this incident has highlighted how weak our employee laws are. No protection for employees.
Mr. Williams, trust the Lord as you normally do, he will strengthen your path. Leave this situation to God.
I don’t want to start any blasphemous rumors
But I think that god’s got a sick sense of humour
And when I die, I expect to find him, laughing
Just hope the NAU has increased their budget. Redundancies are inevitable but I am certain the Premier has this all factored in this is a good deal for the country. Collect $10,000 for a work permit then pay out $12,000 for an unemployed Caymanian.
No work permit for back office jobs relocated to Republic’s existing Trinidad infrastructure. Job just gone. Same way all the KYC checks we get from Scotia originate there now, not from Cayman anymore. Given the cost of hiring a Trinidadian over a Caymanian, and fact that job can be done long distance, hardly a surprise
This is the usual corporate way of dealing with dinosaurs that don’t fit the impending change in culture. Can’t believe this stuff is news especially prior to the final sale. Bad timing BOD, should have done this last year.
Ok. What about our politician dinosaurs?
We are awaiting your input?? *Tick tock tick*
There has been no real change in Cayman Culture, that answer your question?
Well well finally the BOD of Cayman National (not RNTT ) made a long time coming decision couched with flowery accolades. Was it a good decision, well if you look at the reality of the trajectory of the Bank which only made substantial profits on rising interest rates indeed it was the right decision. Perhaps the decision was not solely based on performance but on other aspects? What in the world could they be, as the man president held the position for 15 ( FIFTEEn YEARS). We’re there major losses during his tenor, were there any juicy salacious tales about him on the street, certainly one was never heard. Or was it simply that he overstepped his breaches somehow and upset the erstwhile conservative majority Board of Directors whose focus has been on selling the Bank-and sell the Bank they will unless CIMA comes up with undeniably valid reasons to stop the sale.
Ormond Williams I’m sure is not as distraught over his demise at the Bank as some may tend to think, He should lnow be left to ride out into the sunset with a armoured truck full a money although he may have friends in the aisles of power who will lift him up and place him in a cushy job.
In the meantime in between time CI MA hurry up Christmas near .
Terrible timing. This should have been dealt with 10 years ago, shows lack of leadership at top….
IF CI Govt. Do not give work permits to Foreigners the Republic bank will have to keep all of C N B staff on, so if they lay off Caymanians then blame yourselves, for u all voted for them time and time again, they did not put themselves in, but the foolish people voted them in.
They will outsource jobs to Trinidad just as Scotia does now. There will be loss of employment, inevitably, but not to be replaced with WP holders.
CNB doesn’t have many non-Caymanian employees. Maybe a dozen or so, and mainly with skill-sets where training isn’t available on-island. Not much to be saved there, I’m afraid.
Y’all acting like the Trinidadians did this…. they don’t own it yet. This was the current board XXXX. Just because he is Caymanian doesn’t mean you need to have his back when you don’t know the full story. Plus, most of you defending him make less a year than he was just paid out for his exit. He’ll be fine.
Before everyone flies in with their uninformed views, we should wait to learn WHY Mr Williams was dismissed. Maybe there was a good reason, maybe not; we just don’t know.
It was the same with the former governor: everyone banging on about something they knew nothing about. What a wonderful human being he was, how he was thrown out before he managed to save the world, how his poor old mom-in-law probably deserved to be shouted at, etc.
Bone-headed ignorance, in both cases. Grow up, the lot of you.
1.36pm I don’t think we will ever find out why he was dismissed, this smokescreen is part of Cayman culture and we have seen it many times in the Civil Service.
Happy to see the private sector taking the civil service lead and not giving out staff personal info.
1:36. Best comments of the year.
Your insights would be tremendous…do share!
Caymanians selling out Caymanians. Face up to it and stop blaming everyone else.
Yow 11:37 he the President is not original cayman roots he from some small island beckway o something like that
He did not stand up for his employees when executives took 80-90% of the bonus pool and left the crumbs for the hard working staff. He received hundreds of thousands in bonuses during his tenure, he will be just fine. Lets see if the bonus goes up for regular staff this year being that they wont have to give Ormond his exuberant bonus.
I hope not. The overall service from CNB’s “regular staff” is abysmal.
Yep. And what might his severance have been? Oh you know he’s still getting that money.
Sadly, this happens just about everywhere. Even my own work place, upper management reap the benefits and big bonuses and they give the staff doing the hard labor the scraps.
If you imagine a new owner will be more generous than the old I’m afraid you aren’t going to be happy. They all want more from less.
If it had nothing to do with Republic, this was colossally bad timing by the board
exactly!
Ormond deserved better than this. He is an exceptional leader and strong man of God who is loved and respected by the staff and has led the bank effectively for 15 years. My fear is that there is more to come, but this move flies in the face of the comments made by the new owners re staffing, therefore it doesn’t give any comfort that they will be looking to keep any other promises they make either.
Effectively ….Dint let me laugh, my lips are chapped. You call CNB and try to get hold of a loans officer… You get voice mail and no one returns your call.
What does god have to do with this? Catholic preists are men of god and look what a lot of them did.
Cayman needs a new truly “local” bank.
Problem solved.
Best wishes to Mr. Ormond – a fine gentleman.
Perhaps filled with a degree of integrity not suitable for his chosen profession.
The way the members and leaders of our “first families” raised their hands and sold the Caymanian shareholders down the river on that fateful afternoon was a moment I will never forget.
Kudos to “Al T” for standing up in the audience and ripping them a new one in the midst of it all.
Also, much respect to Mr. Clarence Flowers Jr. for being the sole board member who proudly refused to join the others. (I trust that moment was captured on camera as it was so poignant.)
– Whodatis
*One thing is for certain; Cayman is in the middle of a crossover / transitionary era and much is about to change.
It will be interesting to see what shall become of us as we follow the examples of every other major jurisdiction – from whence their citizens flee seeking refuge and a better life.
Mr Who, you are right. Cayman is now Cayman in name only.
Only if Caymanians do not take a stand…now.
The Brits did it, albeit extremely, by way of Brexit and the (White) Americans did it, albeit shamefully, by way of Trump.
In any event, we have proven ourselves of superior integrity and tolerance (not a wall in sight), when compared to either country, with our 300% population growth in my lifetime alone – so we are well within our worldy rights to demand certain ceases and changes.
Pay no attention to the two-faced hypocrites on this forum.
Instead, remind them of the reality of their own “western” homeland.
– Who
Yikes. I agree with Who again.
The first families sold Caymanian shareholders down the river
? The first families being Caymanian shareholders themselves, and by sold down the river you mean exerting their shareholder rights to allow the other Caymanian shareholders to receive twice the market price for their shares?
Some folks may find this hard to believe; but you can’t put a price on certain things.
– Who
Whodatis did you speak to people he worked with. Outward appearances to those it seems feasible to show niceness to is totally different from being a lack luster no confidence leader.
Oh My, some Caymans living high off the hog getting all their family jobs at CNB and easy loans and using personal information of accounts to strike revenge at enemies…. is about to stop. That is the real outrage of these comments. Your money is now safer than ever at CNB because of the change.
Finally someone that has some brains in this entire feed. Glad you noticed that, yes, we need to embrace change.
Interesting comment. As An IT professional, I have been called in to several properties to find out how wire requests were requested with an uncanny representation of the organization requesting the wire. Spoofed emails, forged signatures and accurate personal information.
The organizations in question were convinced that it was a mole in their office, but the truth of the matter was more sinister.
The inside information cane entirely from within the bank.
So people, be careful. Be very careful.
I moved my money and left $50 to keep account open. So if the Trinis want that, they can have it and shove it where the sun dont shine. This buyout is a shameful disgrace and proves that those in high places are so gullible that they believed no staff turn over would happen. Mr. Ormands termination is the first of possibly hundreds of terminations. This will look very good on Cayman in the world eyes when it is known that our own local bank has been bought out by a institution who has Jack Warner as a shareholder. Shame on the CIG, CIMA and the large shareholders of CNB for allowing this to happen.
And you left $50 to keep the account open – why? Not much of a protest if you keep the account open
Smfh! XXXXX But the staff all needs to strike and demand no changes of staff etc as said. If they don’t all of them needs to resign on them. Then after all CAYMANIANS needs to take their banking elsewhere.
I don’t know what to say or do, but tell you what Cayman is long gone never to come back. We are out numbered badly imagine when those Trinidad Permits & Residences starts to roll in & approve. We Caymanians will have to eat the dog supper , not dog eat our supper.
POOR PEOPLE XXXX FED UP is all I can say.
You know that though. #PPFU to how the sysytem setup!
Poor people are not the best banking clients, so it might be better for the bank if they moved elsewhere. It would reduce the queues too.
Yo poor too foo foo…get a grip buddy. Think you can sit with Aldart and them awa?
The wealth of the wicked is laid up for the just. Not long now, friend.
If the CNB staff strike will WE support them? Will we (especially CNB customers) strike a long side them or go on facebook to complain we couldn’t get any service?
How about you just tell us?
Wonder when the permit applications for Trini staff will roll in
They’ve probably started!
I assume many of the functions will be performed remotely in Trinidad. Not uncommon to consolidate functions in a merger in order to make the math work.
Well, I moved my money from the first day I heard this news. Even thou it may not have been millions, for me its was my life savings and for my retirement. I was told by the staff not to move or close my accounts, all will be okay, don’t care, things will change at CNB. There is something that is unsettling about this buy out, sorry . I am out , put my few pennies in the other banks here, at least they have been here long enough.
It’s a sad day for the staff of Cayman National as Mr Williams was a great example as a Man of God but also a great professional. He came with experience and was loyal to the Board and staff.
Isn’t banking the work of the devil? You know, love of money, root of all evil and all that malarkey? You can’t have it both ways.
Indeed it is hence why no one here owns their cars and homes outright haha
Oh you can definitely have it both ways when it comes to the sub-brand of “Christianity” prevalent in Cayman.
Unfortunately your statement is incorrect. The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all SORTS OF evil, not of all evil. In other words, greed leads us to do many unscrupulous things. Much has been said of the Bible position on banking et. the scriptures teach not to be greedy, and to be wise and careful when borrowing because ‘the borrower is a slave to the lender’. The Bible teaches us to use wisdom in deciding how, when and why to take loans, and it teaches that those in power, ie the lender, should employ fair lending practices. I don’t believe there is anything there that an atheist wouldn’t agree with. Don’t be greedy, be fair, be wise. When offering criticism of something it helps to actually study the thing we are criticising. The Bible is the text most often criticised by people that haven’t actually read it, studied it, researched it to understand the context of what is being read. If we did that with other books we would be considered lazy and ignorant, but somehow we accept that it is okay to criticise the Bible from an uninformed position. I encourage and challenge everyone reading these words. Read the Bible from cover to cover, not from an accusatory position, but from a position of neutrality, seeking simply to discover it is truth or not, and you will be a Christian by the time you get to the end of Revelation. As some starting off advice though, remember that the Bible is Holy scripture, but it is also a book filled with allegory, and it is a history book. The Old Testament describes many things, including establishing the nation of Israel. But we live our lives based on the New Testament because we are followers of Jesus. Once we do that, then we are able to properly contextualise and apply the Old Testament to our lives. Many people criticise the Bible based on the Old Testament, so focus on the New Testament, even if your focus is only to criticise. I feel led to add one final point, as maybe there is someone who will read this and have another question… when it comes to banking, the Bible is often quoted as saying ‘Neither a borrower nor a lender be’. However this is not from the Bible its from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In Love. Your Friendly Neighbourhood Bible Thumper.
Blah blah blah.
Says the uninformed that the poster was speaking about.
Shame, shame, shame! Allegedly, Jack Warner, who is wanted by US authorities in the FIFA scandal, is a major share-holder of Republic National Bank. That speaks to the principles of that bank and what CNB will adopt.
Mr. Williams is a professional and a man of God, he’ll land on his feet. This will be CNB’s loss!
I believe the U.S. submitted an extradition request for Jack Warner a former Minister of the T & T Government, but surprise surprise, after 2 years it still has not been acted upon.
6:38 Haaarumph! Talk what you really know bout de man or do you?
Please stop this nonsense. While we can agree or disagree when it comes to an opinion of this sale, or of Republic Bank, we must agree on facts.
Fact: Jack Warner is not a major Shareholder of Republic Bank!
Well, Ormond most likely was handsomely paid over his 15 years, He will get a package, new owners sometimes need to remove expensive staff and replace them with a more reasonably priced person.He will be ok.
Yes that’s the reason…. where’s the cynical eyes rolling in my head emoji when I need it.
A lot more in there being way over paid. I suspect more jobs to be lost. The former president of the funds department was making $15k+ per month for sitting in his office web shopping, golfing and flirting with female staff. He left in June right before the announcement. I wonder what he knew that others did not?
Hey fellow staff, nice to know you disclosing on staff information to the public, including salary and IT hits! hmmmm we are investigating you and will take necessary actions on your breach of confidentiality of staff and former staff information!
You will be surprised what else you might find while investigating. Please be sure to report the corruption to the authorities. Oh, do not forget to check those CC statement also.
Believe it or not, this happens just about everywhere. Every time I look up, I spot my manager surfing the web and she collects the big salary and throws all the work on her staff.
Should we be considering moving our money? I don’t want to get caught up in their mess and lose my savings.
Wait no longer move it and do it quick, you can ask that question after . Like the old saying .. Shoot first ask question later … well this is one time you should do this. just saying
what a retarded advise you just gave…really?? soooo, one job gone and you suggest pull out so more can go??? wow you are soooo smart!
Well Massa , it takes one to find one.
no why would you? its business as usual! you move money out more jobs will be lost hELLOOOOO
Quick question………..How can the Trinidad Bank do any firing, when they have not taken over the majority of CNB’s shares as yet?????? To date, I have not been paid for my shares? Don’t these transactions have to be approved by CIMA etc., before these actions can be taken?
You have a point! This move may have been a part of the deal and the current management and Board accepted it. This was done by the current management!
I suspect so, part of the deal, direct or implied. “Fired” is a strong word and not the correct one. Presumably he will have received a very nice golden parachute as is typical in these things.
cima hasn’t approved the sale
Peter Tomkins would have been very sad I think.
This power play by the Trinidadians is about escaping from their own troubled nation. These wise shareholders sold out in order to get head of the escape from Cayman’s own troubled nation.
Many more firings to come. I have moved my money, left enough to keep the account open.
That’s exactly what we all should do. I hope all Caymanians move their money and see what the Trickydadians will do then. Government should not allow them one work permit. Employ locals.
Is it safe to leave our money with cnb?
If you want to prop up Trinidadian debt
And prop up Jack Warner’s defense too!
CNB shareholder do not have any confidence in Board of Directors. They did not even know their own AOA. Shareholders are tired of paying $200,000 per annum salary and while only paying 3% dividends .
That’s interesting. In my experience, CNB is/was a mess to deal with.
You haven’t ever dealt with Scotia, I see.
Scotia is the worst bank on island.
try RBC what a nightmare!
And RBC not much better
Check RBC
And Butterfield customer service has gone to crap too
So where do you go? What bank should we use?
Shame on the money hungry board members and share holders for selling out!
My Grandfather always said that while we learn from our mistakes, Wise men learn from the mistakes made by others.
With the most glaring examples of just how destructive investors from the ‘Eastern Caribbean’ are, right next door to us (Jamaica), it beggars beliefe that Caymanians would allow this to happen to a home-grown institution that was our pride & joy. I guess it can be summed-up with just one word, GREED.
Yes Sir, there is plenty of that around here. Just look at our so called leaders.
Disgraceful treatment by the CNB Board of Directors.
Mr. Ormond deserved much better as he was a great leader. I can only imagine how the rest of the staff will be treated during the transition. SMH
“Dack told shareholders that the new owners had indicated plans to leave things, such as staff and the bank’s board of directors, as they are for a while.”
I suppose one could argue a few weeks is “a while”.
Jack in the box will tell you anything you want to hear.
7:43pm what does the government have to say? They will allow the new owners to bring more of their people, and dispose of the present staff. I hope that someone will think and understand that Republic Bank is just a smoke screen. There is a lot that they all need to grasp on the debt demise.
The agreement was five years I believe
Or rather than arguing whether a few weeks is a while, you could just reproduce the quote accurately rather than inventing sh*t
“Dack told shareholders that, as part of the process of the sale to Republic, they had given assurances that they would leave things, such as staff and the bank’s board of directors, as they are for five years.”
Mr. Ormond was a genuinely nice person, but he did not deliver as much for the shareholders and staff, as he earned for himself!
Perhaps if the shareholders were pleased with his performance, they would not have jumped to sell their investments which has actually declined in value 70% during his tenure.
Where did you get these details from?
Ref: AT, just for your information, I bought 500 shares in August 2001 for CI$5.50 each and in 2016 I bought shares for CI$1.40 each, that is a hell of high decline in value. Actually it is a 74.5% decline in value.
I don’t really know Mr. Ormond but heard that he was a pleasure to do business with. Changing the guards ia a common thing in these organizations. Perhaps the Trini bank wants its own GM who would be well versed in their systems and way of doing things. Mr. Ormand’s ego might be bruised but he will be ok. He will get a great redundancy package ( you would be amazed how much) and no doubt he will move on to a better and bigger job with terrific references. Keep the faith brother.