capacity when he retires as president and CEO of Bermuda's richest and largest local company, the Bank of Bermuda, next year.

What exactly that means he is not yet ready to say, but rumours that Mr. Lines will operate a full-blown trust company are not true.

"It might surprise people to learn that I already have quite a large trust company for personal holdings of securities that could be activated into a general trust company at any time,'' he said last week. "But I won't be doing that.'' In a wide-ranging interview, Mr. Lines looked back on his two careers -- as an accountant and banker -- and explained in greater detail the thinking behind his decision to retire from the Bank.

He laid to rest speculation by some that executive vice-president Mr. William Thomson was also retiring next year because he had been passed over for promotion to the ultimate post in the organisation.

While Mr. Lines openly answered questions on several topics, he turned coy when asked about his future plans.

Gossip in some quarters that he harbours political ambitions, even designs to be Bermuda's next Premier, was ill-founded, according to the man himself.

"I'm not ready to discuss my plans yet,'' said Mr. Lines. "Anything I will be doing will be compatible, not competitive with the Bank of Bermuda. There's no point beating your head against a big brick wall.

"I have an idea of something I will do in the financial services field, something I have experience of personally, something I have done a few times before, something that's profitable which I can make extremely profitable.'' One thing is for sure: Mr. Donald Lines OBE, FCA and JP has no intentions of switching off his brain and spending his retirement watching television and playing the retiree's favourite game -- golf. "I've not played golf since I was a young man,'' said Mr. Lines, who will be 62 when he retires on April 3, 1994.

"Maybe I will get a little time to play golf but that's not my interest in life. I find the challenge of some of the things I do more interesting than golf.'' Part of his time will be spent in his current role as managing director of Bermuda Management Holdings, which owns a controlling 50 percent of Masters and 70 percent of Bermuda Computer Services.

It is a measure of an attitude that has seen him rise to the top in two professions in two different countries when he said: "I always felt that 60 was a nice time to start another career.'' When he steps down as the head of the Bank, it will be the second time he has retired.

The first came at the age of 36 in his other career, as a chartered accountant with Montreal firm Creak, Cushing and Hodgson, a firm which handled several large audits.

Mr. Lines had broken all the established rules when he was invited to become a partner in the firm when he was just 25.

Then the company merged with Price Waterhouse, which "had some difficulty accepting that I was a partner, given my age''.

In 1968, he gave up the coziness and lifetime financial security which the partnership offered and agreed to join the Bank of Bermuda "at a considerable drop in income, which most people wouldn't do''.

"The partnership agreement did not contemplate a withdrawal so I had to retire. Hence, I had the unusual distinction of retiring at 36.'' When he joined the Bank in April, 1969, it had about 450 staff, all based in Bermuda, and total assets of just over $106 million.

At December 31, 1992, the Bank employed 1,624 people in eight different countries and had total assets exceeding $6 billion.

Earnings for the year ending June 30, 1992, came to $28.4 million compared with earnings of just 525,000 (approximately $1.2 million) in 1969.

Mr. Lines said he had achieved all the major goals he originally set himself, including steering the Bank's assets to $5 billion before he retired.

"When I joined the Bank almost 25 years ago I had some theories of management which I have held to,'' he said. "They are things which I have developed over the years while in the accounting profession, relating to areas such as size of organisation and the optimum number of people an organisation can manage.

"In the world today, even the biggest companies are being forced to look at their size.'' He believes the maximum number of people a manager can handle properly is 35 and that the gap between a decision being taken and someone carrying it out should be no more than three people.

Mr. Lines said it was counter-productive for a CEO to stay too long in the role because it inhibited those behind him.

"When I took on the CEO's role I felt I should target ten years,'' he said.

When he retires, he will have been in the post for 12 years.

"I always said I would go at 60 if I could afford to and take some time to do other things. I never held that back from anyone, although it wasn't a formal statement.'' As he neared 60 last year, Mr. Lines said he became aware of the "anxiety'' of the Bank's younger senior officers as they jostled for position as the race to succeed him got underway.

He would have kept his personal appointment with retirement if the world had not plunged into recession.

"One of the advantages of age, and there are not very many, is experience,'' he said.

"I have been through three other recessions in my role at the Bank.

Recessions always frighten people and you need to have some sense of the way they behave. They do end ultimately and things will be changed but at the time they can be quite difficult to manage. I felt I should stay through that.

"I can see the recession coming to an end so I put myself back on the retirement list.'' He began discussing his retirement with the Bank's chairman Mr. Eldon Trimingham in July, 1991, and made it formal last June.

The choice of Mr. Charles Vaughan-Johnson as his successor surprised many in the business community, some of whom knew nothing about him.

"It's fair to say that Charles Vaughan-Johnson had never expected to be put in this position, primarily because he's a non-Bermudian,'' said Mr. Lines.

"But he's had a good deal of experience. I certainly had a lot to do with the decision but every member of the executive also played a part.'' Mr. William Thomson was not overlooked for promotion, he said.

"Bill, like myself, feels that at age 62, the patience wears a bit thin and the job might be attractive but some of the pressures might not be so attractive from the point of view of health.

"We both work very long hours and there is a lot of stress and pressure involved which is not common with banks of our size located in other countries.'' That was because the Bank of Bermuda was a big fish in a small pond, playing an active role in major decisions about the Island.

"Everybody in Bermuda knows the head of the bank and the bank plays an important role in the community,'' he said.

"The Bank of Bermuda is still seen as a local bank, yet 90 percent of our business is international.'' Will he miss the power that goes with the role? "I would be less than honest if I said power was something I relinquished happily,'' he said. "But with power in Bermuda goes enormous responsibility, which is more important than power. That responsibility can at times be overwhelming.

"People who wield power, if they're irresponsible, are not much loved and will not be around for long. I don't know how well loved I am but at least I like to think I'm respected because I have tried to do the best that I can.'' The prestige of being the Bank's president was better than the power or responsibility, he added.

"There are a lot of things which go with the role and they are very enjoyable, exciting, interesting and great experiences. It would be a strange person who did not feel complimented by having that experience.'' He has no major regrets, only minor ones such as "not being able to remember everyone's name and know them personally''. "That's a piece of my training that's probably been neglected,'' he said.

MOVING ON -- Bank of Bermuda CEO Mr. Donald Lines.