Mr. Lavern Clarke

By Lavern Clarke, Staff Reporter

...
The nominee in the field of business is BNS head William 'Bill' Clarke.

WILLIAM 'BILL' Clarke has never been afraid to stand alone, but in doing so he has earned the respect of his banking peers, and a country, for strategically steering his company through national crisis, to emerge as market leader.

No small feat for a boy from St. Ann who wanted to influence the world as a lawyer but who, as a man, was chosen by the banking sector as the medium through which he would best serve his country.

All these are matter-of-fact issues for Mr. Clarke who, despite his frequent appearances in the press, remains somewhat unknown to mainstream Jamaica -- but that in itself is easily explained.

He does not discuss his personal life.Period.

So he retains that air of reticence, a culture bankers seem either to cultivate or develop naturally over time as they strive to maintain the high and uncompromising levels of confidentiality expected of them.

But relaxed and at home in his corporate office on the ninth floor of the Scotiabank Centre, downtown Kingston, Mr. Clarke speaks freely of his banking career, though somewhat more reluctantly of his other public involvements.

We stay far away from his personal life, and it had everything to do with the pre-warning that was a condition of the interview: "The first wrong question and you're out!"

Mr. Clarke's story is interwoven with that of the Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica Limited, a company with which he has a 33-year history, first as a teller and currently as its managing director.

"My thing was to go to England to study law, but my parents couldn't afford it, so I ended up in the bank," he told The Gleaner.

His journey through the bank has taken him physically from rural to urban Jamaica, to Canada and back to the capital Kingston, during which time he was watched, then groomed to take charge of the multi-billion dollar operation.

And despite six successful years in which the bank has grown consistently, to triple in asset value, Mr. Clarke says he has only accomplished 60 per cent of what he wants to do.The other 40 per cent centres on bringing new efficiencies to customer service operations and differentiating among the bank's customers in order to serve them better; investing even more time in building the Scotiabank human resource team; and doing something about the unending lines that characterise the popular banking institution.

Mr. Clarke began working in the Discovery Bay branch of BNS straight out of school, as a teenager.He graduated from York Castle High, then joined the bank in 1968.

By 1973, he had progressed through the ranks, from clerical to junior supervisory level, working in a number of branches islandwide and learning the nitty-gritty of the operation.

But he really got into the intimate details of Scotiabank after he was appointed to the auditing section, an area of the bank that can be described as a microcosm of the operation since it has a watchdog function that allows it to delve into all activities of the various departments.

"This is where I spent the better part of my banking career ... not only in Jamaica but also overseas," said Mr. Clarke.

BNS' Jamaican operation is the oldest and most important in the region in terms of its contribution to the bank's international operations, a network that spans 1,700 branches in 51 countries, and accounts for more than 50,000 jobs.

A key function of how efficiently the network operates is largely an issue of having the right people who understand the philosophy of the highly conservative global operation and make the types of decisions that will minimise the bank's risk exposure while keeping its operations profitable.

Succession is therefore key, and grooming essential.

...
Mr. Clarke was hand-picked by the Canadians from a short list of candidates to run the Jamaican bank and has more than lived up to expectations.

"The board must have seen in me certain characteristics and I was chosen above others.I took it as a challenge to make a difference and to do things that I think would have been consistent with the Scotiabank history," he said.

It took five years from his entry as a teller for him to move through the ranks of the bank and into the nerve centre of the operations within the managing director's office as part of the auditing department.That accomplished, Scotiabank Canada, which owns 70 per cent of the local operation, started taking greater interest in him.He was brought to Canada for further exposure to the international side of the business and, overall, Mr. Clarke spent about 3 1/2 years overseas.

After that he was deemed ready.

In 1995, A.B.
...
Mr. Clarke -- then a district general manager and in his mid-forties - was named as Lindo's successor less than a year after his return to Jamaica.Over the six years that he has been boss, he has set new performance records for the bank that have Canada taking notice.

Jamaica's contribution to the global operation "is talked about a lot in the parent company", said Mr. Clarke."There is always a keen eye on what happens in Jamaica by all executives in the bank in Canada."

His innovations include the three-year-old ScotiaLife insurance service which now contributes 10 per cent to the bank's bottom line; new technology that keeps the bank on the cutting edge; and the respected Scotia-bank Jamaica Foundation -- the bank's "conscience" programme -- which has dispensed about $120 million in assistance over its four-year life, mainly in the areas of health and education.

"One twenty million in four years is no small feat," said Mr. Clarke.The foundation is his company's main avenue for community service, though Scotiabank's subsidiaries are also known to sponsor various events."I am not a member of any social club," said the Scotiabank executive."I have no time for such things."

In the year that Mr. Clarke took over, Scotiabank Jamaica had total assets of $34.7 billion, a figure that has almost tripled, to $100 billion as at October 31 this year; while deposits have climbed from $28b to $60b in 2000.Profits this year stood at $3.2b, up 26 per cent over the comparable period last year, while non-performing loans were reduced by 25 per cent to $911 million.

The reduction continued to mark the turnaround of bad loans that had bloomed from $146m in 1995, to peak at $1.32b in 1999, before changing course a year later.

Jobs have also increased, but only by a net 100.In 2000, the company had 1,691 employed over a branch network of more than 40 offices.
...
Of his achievements, Mr. Clarke remains most proud of transforming the bank's "human resource capabilities into a very strong fighting force", and asserts that professionally, there is no organisation that compares with the talent he has infused in the bank.

And he is not done yet.The vision he outlined had a clear place for the young and those with "good talent".

The BNS head wants to develop the bank's human resources to an even greater degree, in a programme that is aimed at managing succession through specialised recruitment.Mr. Clarke does not go out seeking bankers; his strategy is to find "young people in their professions and in academia, and fit them into the business" - under a system where the bank recruits, trains, deploys and promotes.

"I want to see a greater degree of talent that is going to provide succession," he told The Gleaner.

So far, Mr. Clarke has more than justified the bank's faith in his abilities, though even he could only "hazard a guess" on what were the characteristics they saw in him, that had informed their decision to have him head the bank in the first place.

"I've been known from my early days in the bank as someone who is quite committed and firm in getting things done ... and who is decisive," said Mr. Clarke.There is a place, he said, for consensus and committees, but "I am never afraid to stand alone" when the time comes to make the tough decisions.

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By Lavern Clarke, Staff Reporter

...
The nominee in the field of business is BNS head William 'Bill' Clarke.

WILLIAM 'BILL' Clarke has never been afraid to stand alone, but in doing so he has earned the respect of his banking peers, and a country, for strategically steering his company through national crisis, to emerge as market leader.

No small feat for a boy from St. Ann who wanted to influence the world as a lawyer but who, as a man, was chosen by the banking sector as the medium through which he would best serve his country.

All these are matter-of-fact issues for Mr. Clarke who, despite his frequent appearances in the press, remains somewhat unknown to mainstream Jamaica -- but that in itself is easily explained.

He does not discuss his personal life.Period.

So he retains that air of reticence, a culture bankers seem either to cultivate or develop naturally over time as they strive to maintain the high and uncompromising levels of confidentiality expected of them.

But relaxed and at home in his corporate office on the ninth floor of the Scotiabank Centre, downtown Kingston, Mr. Clarke speaks freely of his banking career, though somewhat more reluctantly of his other public involvements.

We stay far away from his personal life, and it had everything to do with the pre-warning that was a condition of the interview: "The first wrong question and you're out!"

Mr. Clarke's story is interwoven with that of the Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica Limited, a company with which he has a 33-year history, first as a teller and currently as its managing director.

"My thing was to go to England to study law, but my parents couldn't afford it, so I ended up in the bank," he told The Gleaner.

His journey through the bank has taken him physically from rural to urban Jamaica, to Canada and back to the capital Kingston, during which time he was watched, then groomed to take charge of the multi-billion dollar operation.

And despite six successful years in which the bank has grown consistently, to triple in asset value, Mr. Clarke says he has only accomplished 60 per cent of what he wants to do.The other 40 per cent centres on bringing new efficiencies to customer service operations and differentiating among the bank's customers in order to serve them better; investing even more time in building the Scotiabank human resource team; and doing something about the unending lines that characterise the popular banking institution.

Mr. Clarke began working in the Discovery Bay branch of BNS straight out of school, as a teenager.He graduated from York Castle High, then joined the bank in 1968.

By 1973, he had progressed through the ranks, from clerical to junior supervisory level, working in a number of branches islandwide and learning the nitty-gritty of the operation.

But he really got into the intimate details of Scotiabank after he was appointed to the auditing section, an area of the bank that can be described as a microcosm of the operation since it has a watchdog function that allows it to delve into all activities of the various departments.

"This is where I spent the better part of my banking career ... not only in Jamaica but also overseas," said Mr. Clarke.

BNS' Jamaican operation is the oldest and most important in the region in terms of its contribution to the bank's international operations, a network that spans 1,700 branches in 51 countries, and accounts for more than 50,000 jobs.

A key function of how efficiently the network operates is largely an issue of having the right people who understand the philosophy of the highly conservative global operation and make the types of decisions that will minimise the bank's risk exposure while keeping its operations profitable.

Succession is therefore key, and grooming essential.

...
Mr. Clarke was hand-picked by the Canadians from a short list of candidates to run the Jamaican bank and has more than lived up to expectations.

"The board must have seen in me certain characteristics and I was chosen above others.I took it as a challenge to make a difference and to do things that I think would have been consistent with the Scotiabank history," he said.

It took five years from his entry as a teller for him to move through the ranks of the bank and into the nerve centre of the operations within the managing director's office as part of the auditing department.That accomplished, Scotiabank Canada, which owns 70 per cent of the local operation, started taking greater interest in him.He was brought to Canada for further exposure to the international side of the business and, overall, Mr. Clarke spent about 3 1/2 years overseas.

After that he was deemed ready.

In 1995, A.B.
...
Mr. Clarke -- then a district general manager and in his mid-forties - was named as Lindo's successor less than a year after his return to Jamaica.Over the six years that he has been boss, he has set new performance records for the bank that have Canada taking notice.

Jamaica's contribution to the global operation "is talked about a lot in the parent company", said Mr. Clarke."There is always a keen eye on what happens in Jamaica by all executives in the bank in Canada."

His innovations include the three-year-old ScotiaLife insurance service which now contributes 10 per cent to the bank's bottom line; new technology that keeps the bank on the cutting edge; and the respected Scotia-bank Jamaica Foundation -- the bank's "conscience" programme -- which has dispensed about $120 million in assistance over its four-year life, mainly in the areas of health and education.

"One twenty million in four years is no small feat," said Mr. Clarke.The foundation is his company's main avenue for community service, though Scotiabank's subsidiaries are also known to sponsor various events."I am not a member of any social club," said the Scotiabank executive."I have no time for such things."

In the year that Mr. Clarke took over, Scotiabank Jamaica had total assets of $34.7 billion, a figure that has almost tripled, to $100 billion as at October 31 this year; while deposits have climbed from $28b to $60b in 2000.Profits this year stood at $3.2b, up 26 per cent over the comparable period last year, while non-performing loans were reduced by 25 per cent to $911 million.

The reduction continued to mark the turnaround of bad loans that had bloomed from $146m in 1995, to peak at $1.32b in 1999, before changing course a year later.

Jobs have also increased, but only by a net 100.In 2000, the company had 1,691 employed over a branch network of more than 40 offices.
...
Of his achievements, Mr. Clarke remains most proud of transforming the bank's "human resource capabilities into a very strong fighting force", and asserts that professionally, there is no organisation that compares with the talent he has infused in the bank.

And he is not done yet.The vision he outlined had a clear place for the young and those with "good talent".

The BNS head wants to develop the bank's human resources to an even greater degree, in a programme that is aimed at managing succession through specialised recruitment.Mr. Clarke does not go out seeking bankers; his strategy is to find "young people in their professions and in academia, and fit them into the business" - under a system where the bank recruits, trains, deploys and promotes.

"I want to see a greater degree of talent that is going to provide succession," he told The Gleaner.

So far, Mr. Clarke has more than justified the bank's faith in his abilities, though even he could only "hazard a guess" on what were the characteristics they saw in him, that had informed their decision to have him head the bank in the first place.

"I've been known from my early days in the bank as someone who is quite committed and firm in getting things done ... and who is decisive," said Mr. Clarke.There is a place, he said, for consensus and committees, but "I am never afraid to stand alone" when the time comes to make the tough decisions.

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