Development Bank celebrates 40 years of sustained Nation building

Published 10 May 2021

Basseterre

Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source

Development Bank celebrates 40 years of sustained Nation building  

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, May 10, 2021 (DBSKN) — The Development Bank of Saint Kitts and Nevis is, in the month of May, observing its 40^th anniversary, celebrating under the theme ‘Committed to you, dedicated to progress: DBSKN celebrates 40 years of Success’.

Member of the 40^th Anniversary Celebrations Committee, Ms Chantelle Rochester, who is also the Bank’s Marketing and Product Development Officer, said the institution, which is wholly owned by the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, was established by an Act of Parliament No. 1 of 1981, and is fully autonomous and operates independently with a Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and a team of dedicated staff members.

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis is Mr Warren Thompson, while the Chief Executive Officer is Mr Lenworth Harris. 

“Over the past 40 year, the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis (DBSKN); the most important financial institution in the Federation, has made a sustained positive difference in the lives of our citizens and residents through the development of our Human Resource capacity, providing access to Home Ownership, Business Ownership and Community Building,” said Ms Rochester.

Activities to mark the anniversary will include a thanksgiving church service that will be attended by all members of the Bank’s Board of Directors, management and staff. The service will be held at the Seventh Day Adventist Church in Gingerland, Nevis, on Saturday May 15. After the church service, the Directors, Management, and Staff will be treated to a brunch at the Hermitage Inn, also in Nevis.

Ahead of the church service, on Wednesday May 12, two of the Bank’s staff, Delinquency Manager Ms Elisha Henry, and Delinquency Officer Ms Krystal Bristol, will facilitate a Financial Information Session on Freedom FM starting from 1:00 pm, under the topic ‘Avoiding Delinquency at DBSKN’.

This will be followed on Wednesday May 19 by an appearance of three officials from the Development Bank on ‘Working for You’, the popular informative talk show programme on ZIZ Radio and Television, and social media, which is hosted by Director General of St. Kitts and Nevis Information Service (SKNIS) Mr Lesroy Williams. They will discuss the history of the Bank and what it stands for.

The officers, who will also field questions from the listening and viewing audience, are Chairperson of the 40^th Anniversary Celebrations Committee, Ms Danienne Brin, who is also the Bank’s Human Resources Manager; Manager of the Nevis Branch, Ms Hyacinth Pemberton, and Marketing and Product Development Officer, Ms Chantelle Rochester.

A second Financial Information Session, also on Freedom FM will be held on Wednesday May 26 starting at 10:00 pm. The session will be facilitated by Business Support Unit Manager Ms Kenisha Davis, and Credit Risk Analyst Ms Loydene Bloice, and the topic will be ‘Loan Acquisition’.

“As a health-conscious team, on the actual anniversary date, Saturday May 22, members of the Board, Management and Staff along with members of the public will test their physical fitness by participating in the Iron Man Walk,” observed Ms Rochester. “The exercise that takes them from Silver Reef in Frigate Bay, will see them follow the Kennedy Simmonds Highway and walk all the way to Major’s Bay, the docking point for the vehicle ferry, Seabridge.”  

A Customer Appreciation and Business Fair dubbed ‘BIZFEST Let’s Celebrate Entrepreneurship Together!’ will be observed simultaneously on St. Kitts and on Nevis on Friday May 28. According to Ms Rochester, on St, Kitts the event will begin at 8:00 a.m. at the Bank’s head office at the corner of Church and Central Streets, and continues at West Independence Square in Basseterre from 12:00 noon. In Nevis it will be held at the Branch Office on Chapel Street in Charlestown from 9:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.

At the two events, Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis clients will be given the opportunity to introduce and sell their products to members of the public, which according to Ms Rochester “is our way of thanking our business clients for their partnership, their unwavering patronage and loyalty to the DBSKN Brand. Without them the Bank would not be what it is today.”

Activities marking the Bank’s 40^th anniversary will come to an end on Saturday May 29 with a formal dinner and awards ceremony at the Park Hyatt St. Kitts. To be recognised will include the Bank’s long serving directors, staff, and stakeholders who have partnered with the Bank in its endeavours to make that sustained positive difference in the lives of citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis.    

Happy 40^th DBSKN Family (#developers)!