Ashford W. Meikle, Staff Reporter
General Manager of FirstCaribbean International Building Society, Lenworth Tracey, (right) engages partner of Myers, Fletcher and Gordon, Ethan Sinclair in conversation during the building society's launch of its international hard currency mortgage product at the Knutsford Court Hotel last month. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
WITH HIS eyes set on another traditional profession, the successful career banker that Lenworth Tracey is, almost never happened.
"My first thought when I was going to university is that I wanted to do the law," said the general manager of FirstCaribbean International Building Society (FCIBS) as he sat down for an interview with the Financial Gleaner, in his spartan office on the FirstCaribbean Building on Knutsford Boulevard in New Kingston.
But that was not meant to be.
"Back in those days you had to be on a short list and they had a quota of 12 or so people from Jamaica. I didn't get in but I wanted to go to university and I said all right let me find something else to do and geography was always a passion. And the unique mix with the social sciences was a super choice as an alternative," explained Tracey.
CIVIL SERVICE
So, fresh out of university with a first degree in geography and social sciences and anxious to put his shoulder to the wheel, he landed a job in the civil service.
"I didn't even get a week off," he chuckled as he recalled his hiring as information officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in August 1987. He spent a year there and then moved to the economics division as economics officer and then in the protocol division as protocol officer. "It was extremely interesting - I learned a lot from it, about protocol, international trade," reflected Tracey on his tenure.
But, after four months in the Protocol Division, Tracey felt there was more out there, venturing into the field of journalism. In February 1989 he went to work for the Jamaica Record, the fledgling daily that had just been started by businessman Mark Ricketts. Drawing on his talents honed at the Ministry, Tracey was hired as economic analyst and foreign affairs editor, a post he held for three years.
"We didn't just report on the news, we did a lot of analysis ? we were close to a lot of the business leaders," shared Tracey as he spoke of his time at the newspaper with veteran journalist, Ralston Hyman. In March 1992, the newspaper, impressed with Tracey's credentials and aptitude, appointed him as the marketing and sales manager. "Because of the years of work in the business community I had tremendous amount of relationship built up with the business community ? I was highly networked. So the newspaper was able to use me, to leverage those relationships," explained Tracey.
Ironically, as fate would have it, it was the connections which Tracey fostered that encouraged him to switch to banking. "I was invited by [a contact in the] banking industry to make [the] transition to Citizens Bank," Tracey said.
And so, one day in January 1993 at the age of 27, the journalist and marketer walked into Citizens Bank as assistant manager for credit, despite having no prior experience in banking. In his trademark workaholic attitude, he then set about to allay any misgivings the staff might have about him being an outsider. To achieve this, he noted, he worked hard at winning the confidence of his internal public - the staff - as well as building relationships with his customers.
His strategy paid off and Tracey quickly moved up the ranks at Citizens Bank, acting as manager on several occasions. But, constantly seeking more for career development, he left JCB in December 1996 for the then Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) where he went as the assistant manager for their Ocho Rios branch. Superficially a lateral move but, as Tracey reasons, "Having ? acted as manager at JCB on several occasions, I felt I was quite capable of a more senior role. Citizens Bank then had limited branch [network in Jamaica] so the number of opportunities for a branch manager coming up was more restricted than for, say, a larger bank like CIBC."
In July 1998, after a year and a half at CIBC, Tracey packed his bags for Kingston when he was appointed branch manager for CIBC's Duke Street branch. But, while the young banker was busy collecting promotions the country was in the midst of a debilitating financial crisis which saw a number of financial behemoths collapsing - the so-called FINSAC years of the mid to late 1990s.
"It was a stressful time," reflected a sombre Tracey as he recalled the incidents. "CIBC wasn't a institution affected directly in terms of requiring assistance but the fact is we had customers [who] were affected by the environment of high interest rate. So the kind of stress customers were undergoing also caused stress on banking officers. Psychologically you were carrying the burden of the economic environment. But at the same time you had to be a prudent banker in terms of making those financial decisions that were sound and practical," he expounded.
As the new millennium approached Tracey got his next big promotion when he was appointed manager of the Twin gates branch of CIBC/ FirstCaribbean Bank in August 1999. A number of other appointments followed, including that of senior manager for mortgage financing. Last year April he was appointed to the position of general manager for the building society. Under his stewardship, FCIBS has been one of the fastest growing building societies in Jamaica, achieving a 66 per cent growth in its mortgage portfolio.
The company recently launched its international hard currency mortgage product aimed at high net-worth individuals. The society has partnered with developers of Goldeneye and Palmyra to offer mortgages to potential owner of these properties, which cost between US$500,000 - US$3 million.
Last year he was appointed to the country management committee, the steering committee of FirstCaribbean International which is responsible for the local operations of FCIBJ.
Tracey does not hold his rise to fate or luck. "The harder you work, the luckier you are," he reasons. "Whatever I do I focus on finding opportunities, ways to create wealth for the institution and staff."
Education, too, is important for the executive who completed his MBA two yeas ago form the Florida International University. He also has professional certification in insurance sales and is a licensed securities dealer. "I think this is probably one of our drawbacks. We don't keep upgrading our skills and getting new ideas about doing things," he rued.
Married with a young daughter for the past 10 years, Tracey says he loves his job tremendously and is extremely satisfied with his professional path. He emphasises that he owes his success to his staff. "I love to see people develop. I love to see the gleam in their eyes when they realise they can do something, or how they are assisting customers to achieve their goals."
Perhaps it is for this reason why five years hence, the career banker, still sees himself "paying attention to the people I work with, trying to make them successful - getting them on a career path so that they become successful in supporting their own families and aspirations."
