The Tribune

Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has hosted a Directors’ Forum in Nassau for top executives from its Bahamas, Cayman Islands and Turks & Caicos operations, with corporate governance the central theme.

Ten RBC directors and 15 RBC business leaders were joined by banking regulators in a half-day session.

“Corporate governance remains one of the most pressing issues facing financial institutions today,” said Harriet Thornhill, regional president, personal banking, for RBC Financial (Caribbean).

“It is critical for us to regularly convene, share ideas and become better informed about the environment in which we operate.”

Presenters at the Forum included RBC regional heads Suresh Sookoo, chief executive; Michael Detje, chief financial officer; and Bis Mukerji, chief risk officer.

Also invited to attend were Wendy Craigg, Governor, Central Bank of the Bahamas; Kevin Higgins, managing director, Financial Services Commission, Turks & Caicos Islands; and Cindy Scotland, managing director, Cayman Islands Monetary Authority.

During the session, participants focused on RBC’s governance principles and discussed the various measures in place to enhance governance controls.

“RBC’s reputation as one of the leading corporate governance practitioners in the world is one that has been built up through the years to become premium brand equity,” said Mr Sookoo.

“We remain committed to working with regulators to ensure that the highest standards of corporate governance are adhered to within our organisation.”

RBC has six major legal entities that operate in the Northern Caribbean: RBC Royal Bank (Bahamas); Finance Corporation of the Bahamas (FINCO); Royal Bank of Canada Trust Company (Bahamas); RBC Dominion Securities Global; Royal Bank of Canada Trust Company (Cayman) ;  and  RBC Royal Bank (Cayman) – each of which has an independent Board of Directors.

In November 2011, RBC was recognisd as having the Best Overall Corporate Governance in the International category at the Annual Corporate Governance Awards, held in New York.

“We consider it important to share governance information with all of our directors and in-market leadership across the Caribbean,” said Nicole Richards, general counsel and corporate secretary, RBC Financial (Caribbean).

“This Forum gave us the opportunity to emphasise the key elements necessary for the maintenance of an engaged and effective board, including strict adherence to audit, risk management and compliance practices.”