CAYMAN National Bank and Trust Company (Isle of Man) Limited has celebrated its 25th anniversary with a reception in Douglas.

The evening was hosted by managing director Ian Bancroft and Cayman National group chief executive officer Stuart Dack. In his welcome address Mr Bancroft spoke of how the world had changed from 25 years ago when Margaret Thatcher was UK Prime Minister, Nelson Mandela was still imprisoned and in the Isle of Man the Council of Ministers had yet to be established.

But what had not changed, he said, was “Cayman National’s conservative approach to risk.” It was an approach that had ensured the bank had not been exposed to sub-prime risk and seen Cayman National become “one of the very few banking groups to have reduced its provisioning over the past two years,” said Mr Bancroft.

He went on to say that personal service - “real one-to-one, not computer-generated service” - combined with commitment to work with clients to achieve lasting financial solutions were “core tenets” of the business. In closing, he said Cayman National was “proud to be part of the Isle of Man success story” contributing to Cayman National’s continued growth and success.

In his reply, group CEO Stuart Dack said the Cayman National Group was established 36 years ago. He praised the founding directors for their vision, and the current Isle of Man leadership team for their commitment in taking the business forward so successfully. He then welcomed the new chairman of the group Truman Bodden, who had been a key figure in progressing the Cayman Islands’ growth and success.

The Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man were “doing well” said Mr Dack who saw “huge opportunities” for both jurisdictions in the future and he applauded the actions of the Isle of Man Government in positioning the Island to take full advantage of the possibilities its offshore status presented for future growth.