Keeping customers informed and efficient communication between management, front desk workers, Government, regulators and the community is key for Butterfield Bank in steering successfully through the exconomic crisis.

Striking the right balance between running its day-to-day business and focusing on its long-term strategy is important, according to Butterfield Bank's CEO Alan Thompson.

But above all, he said, the bank remained concentrated on the future and was laying the foundations now for expanding its capabilities, improving efficiencies and enhancing its services going forward.

Mr. Thompson said the bank's tack has been to be proactive and transparent about its position, in September issuing a statement with details of its strength.

He said senior management was on hand to answer questions from stakeholders, while it reached out to customers who were anxious about the current global financial situation.

"In our view, open communication and a high-touch customer approach is appropriate in the current global environment," he said.

"It is important to reaffirm that, throughout the global financial crisis, Butterfield Bank has continued to perform well, realising profit of $80.5 million in the third quarter. The bank is financially sound and well-positioned for continued growth.

"The bank did not engage in sub-prime mortgage lending, and Butterfield does not rely on inter-bank borrowing. Our credit businesses are funded by deposits. Our balance sheet is strong. Our loan book is of excellent quality."

Mr. Thompson said Butterfield Bank was fortunate to have a franchise that was diversified in terms of geography, clientele and revenue sources, enjoying a degree of protection from market slowdowns in certain jurisdictions and market segments in which it operates.

He also believes how you change your organisation is as important as what you change. Strategic changes the bank is making to develop its businesses are being introduced in a way that helps its employees understand why they were happening, so they can be part of the process, coming up with solutions and being committed to the end goals.

Finding the right medium between the daily management of the operation and working on its long-term plans was the key to success for any leader, said Mr. Thompson.

"As we've always been a conservative bank in terms of our lending approach, we are not seeing spikes in defaults on loans and mortgages, and so don't see a need to make any significant changes in our credit policies or loan loss provisions," he said.

"Our loans to customer deposits ratio is 44 percent, with loans comprising only 37.9 percent of assets. We have a highly liquid balance sheet and a strong capital base.

"The bank continues to perform well. We remain focused on our strategic goals and we have not delayed or altered any major projects. History shows us that recessionary times inevitably end and economies grow bigger and stronger than they were before the downturns. Therefore, it's important for us to move forward with our strategic priorities to help position the bank to take advantage of the growth in world markets that we expect will come about in a year or two."

He said good execution of the strategy depended on explaining to all of the bank's stakeholders what its objectives were and the reasons behind them and once they understand that, they could get behind it and were committed to its success.

Butterfield Bank's team of staff embody the bank, reckons Mr. Thompson, and do a good job of sharing what they and our customers are saying and feeling, while the bank is not experiencing any problems in retaining employees.

"I think that's because we're doing a good job of sharing with employees the vision of where we're heading," he said.

"People are excited about Butterfield becoming an even better bank and they want to be a part of that process."

Mr. Thompson added that senior management make a point of being visible and available to staff and were interested in their feedback and suggestions.