Ansa Merchant, Tatil, Tatil Life have good year

Speaking before the start of the day’s business, bank director Timothy Hamel- Smith said Sabga laid down the DNA that underpinned the success and growth of the institution and its subsidiaries.

Reminiscing about the bank’s small start, Hamel-Smith said Sabga had a certain vision for the bank. “Without that vision, we would not have been here today, not giving thanks for all the great work that is being done by our management.” “He understood that you had to go forward to grow. Or go backward. And yes, he pushed people to achieve higher standards in order to reach the point we are today,” said Hamel-Smith.

Hamel Smith also praised what he referred to the deceased businessman’s, “Innate genius.” “One of the things about Sabga was that he had a certain instinct for business and that is not something you learn in a book.

He would not want us to rest on our laurels, or remain where we are, but to go for better and bigger opportunities in order to gain the ultimate vision that he would have had for this bank.” Sabga’s son, A. Norman Sabga was elected to replace him as chairman of the bank’s board in a meeting prior to that of the shareholders’.

The bank and its subsidiaries, which include Tatil, Tatil Life, Bryden’s Insurance and Consolidate Finance Co Ltd, the latter two based in Barbados, had a good year which saw overall increases in profit before tax.

In a presentation, director Chip Sa Gomes revealed that the banking group’s profit before tax increased 12 per cent from $297 million to $322 million. Profit attributable to shareholders increased two per cent, while dividends increased by 14 per cent over last year.

The group controls a balance sheet of $7.4 billion with a ten per cent increase in asset base, which Sa Gomes said, was reflective of the purchase of Consolidate Financial Co Ltd.