When you walk into the offices of Bermuda Savings and Loan, the first thing you are greeted with is a warm smile and a friendly “hello”.

This was a calculated move on the part of the company’s vice-president, Betty Brown, who virtually hand picked her team in order to give Bermuda Savings and Loan clients an inviting and professional atmosphere to conduct their business.

Mrs. Brown, was armed with almost three decades of banking experience, when she joined the First Bermuda Group-owned company in 1997. The opportunity for her to start a new job came at a good time as her previous employer was downsizing its deposit and mortgage department and Mrs. Brown felt that she was not being as professionally challenged as she would have liked.

“This company approached me to take over from the previous managing director. I asked if I could bring my staff with me who had the experience I needed. I knew that they could get exactlly what I needed,” she said.

Initially, Mrs. Brown’s request was denied, but then she was allowed to bring two team members to join her. “Peter Howells was my IT manager and Rebecca Brookes had a strong background in deposit taking and mortgages,” she said. “I was then able to bring Lisa Foggo over. She is a strong back office person.”

Mrs. Brown offered nothing but praises for the rest of her team as well who she said “fit neatly in place” in the organisation.

“We all work well together. We work in a casual atmosphere but all of us make sure that we give our clients nothing but the best, professional service.”

And it is excellent service that has contributed to the significant growth of its mortgage portfolio from $20 million to $80 million since 1997.

“We try to process applications very quickly,” Mrs. Brown continued. “We like to offer a one on one relationship and would like to be less formal with applicants so that they can be comfortable. We try our best to work with clients to look for the right mortgage for them.”

The vice president said her company always tried to do all it could to prevent its mortgage holders who fall into financial trouble.

“It’s a very last resort to take somebody’s property. We ask our clients to let us know as early as possible when they feel they are getting into trouble,” she said. “Let us know instead of us finding out so that we can find a solution together that can work for evryone.”

Bermuda Savings and Loan does not offer 95 percent financing like other banking institutions, something Mrs. Brown felt was not a disadvantage to the company.

“With 95 percent financing, the monthly mortgage payment is higher than if you take out a mortgage which offers 80 percent. We don’t want to see people getting in trouble.

“It’s nice to give 95 percent but the payments are higher and can definitely create a problem.”

Along with offering mortgages, Bermuda Savings and Loan also offers savings accounts as well as high end deposits (see schedule below).

Mrs. Brown emphasised the importance of encouraging children to begin saving as early as possible: “In a lot of situations, parents start accounts for their children.

“Hopefully it will get them used to saving. In this day and time it is very important to start saving, especially if they want to one day own their own home. The discipline should be there to put something away.”

As she looked ahead to the future, Mrs. Brown spoke of her aspirations for Bermuda Savings and Loan. “We want to be a player in the marketplace. We know that people don’t know a lot about us right now. We get a lot of personal referrals, but we do want to be better known out there and that’s what we are working on.”