As a lawyer and businessman, Timothy Ulrich (pictured) is naturally cautious with the press.

But the new president and chief operating officer of Bermuda Commercial Bank has lifted the veil of silence that has hung over the business for over a year and a half.

And instead of requesting e-mailed questions as has been the practice of the bank for the past 18 months, he granted an interview with .

In an open and frank interview yesterday, Mr. Ulrich clarified that the company would not be appointing a new managing director, that the e-banking platform was operating, the bank's 60/40 exemption, and of the move into the bank's new headquarters on Victoria Street.

He also stated that the bank was in a good position to keep on improving the results that the business has been achieving for the past eight years since First Cura??o International Bank took over Bermuda's third bank.

He said. "I think we have an exciting story to tell and we are in line to continue to improve upon the results of BCB, and I am happy to be a part of that."

Mr. Ulrich grew up in New York and attended the City University of New York. He started a practice in Wall Street and first came to Bermuda in 1974. In 1986 he met with John Deuss, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BCB, and the following year began working with him.

In 1993 he first helped First Cura??o International buy up the shares at BCB that had previously been owned by Barclays Bank.

He has also been general counsel and vice president of Transworld Oil since 1987 and holds the same post at First Cura??o, BCB's largest shareholder. He has also been on the board of directors since 1999.

"There probably isn't a single aspect of the bank in which I have not taken an active role," he said of his long years of service at BCB.

He will now take up the day-to-day running of the bank, a void left its general manager left in 1999, which was filled by temporary managers until now.

"At our last general meeting we amended our private act, mostly to accommodate the changes with the 60/40 exemption, but also eliminated the post of managing director. The management structure is a more traditional one now of Chairman, CEO, President and COO, Vice President and Corporate Secretary etc."

He said that the decision had been made to bring the company more in line with American-style companies, and gave a structure which the staff and clients understood.

He also said spoke about the e-banking platform. "It is still in what we call pilot mode," adding that top line customers (ones who had over $10 million) were given the on-line banking service.

"Eventually all customers will be given this," he said. "For the full level service the date is not far off, we expect it to be this fall."

He added that BCB Gold, which was set up in 1996, offered a dial up service for computers with modems, and that this was still in service and being used by another 50 or so clients.

He said when asked if the e-banking platform had been launched: "It has been up and running since April. We have not made the site available at a general level, and have been taking a limited number of investors into the pilot site."

He said these customers could open accounts and move money from one account to another, multi-currency vehicles and set up monthly payments such as mortgages on a repetitive monthly basis.

"The pilot initially started as a test, but it has been fully functioning since June. One reason we have proceeded very deliberately and slowly is because the company is prudent and we are cautious bankers.

"It is very rare that you find the gun man who walks into a bank and holds up the teller these days. In order to protect our integrity and confidentiality of our on-line electronic transactions we have been diligent. And we have now come to that point."

He also admitted that the software development took longer than expected with the platform.

"We now have a quite robust facility that many other e-banks do not have. We now have developed a world class site and I don't mind one bit that it took longer than planned."

The Minster of Finance, Eugene Cox, in May granted BCB an exemption from the 60/40 ownership rules which meant that the company had to be owned 60 percent by Bermudians.

When asked if the bank would consider listing on another exchange, Mr. Ulrich said: "Yes it is something that we might think about at some point in the future. But it is too soon to tell. It would be an option to grow the bank's capital."

He said that BCB would probably look to New York or London as a way to do this.

When asked if it would be fair to say that BCB intended to float on a foreign exchange, he said: "That would be overstated."

He added that it had not been discussed at board level or talked of extensively.

He added: "The exemption gives us flexibility to access other capital markets."

Mr.Ulrich also revealed that the bank hoped to move its 60 or so staff into its new building in Victoria Street by mid December and hoped to be fully installed by January. BCB will occupy three floors, ground, basement and first floor.