By Dennise Williams, Staff Reporter
Wayne Wray
SOME BANKERS like to wax eloquent about interest rates, inflation and government fiscal policy. Others like to brag about how much money they've earned or what their bank has on deposit. When you talk to Wayne Wray, the newly-appointed president of First Global Bank Ltd., he will tell you about people. Whether it's about the people he has worked with in the past or the people he works with now, his focus is squarely on those around him. "I am just a person who knows a little about banking," he states.
WAYNE WRAY, the new president of First Global Bank, sums up his corporate strategy in this way: "You must big up your team. At the end of the day, the results are key. If you don't support the team, you won't get the help needed. I am just the link person. I lay off balls to the strike person and I expect you to score."
Another thing about Mr. Wray is that he doesn't seek out publicity; he likes his work to speak for him instead. "For me, it is not important that Jamaica knows what I do, but that I do my job well. If a person seeks the spotlight and forgets about the team members, you know what's going to happen? The people will say, 'Go ahead, superstar, do everything by yourself.' Eventually, that person will fail." At 42, Mr. Wray's promotion to bank president is the next logical step in his 17-year banking career. Mr. Wray shares his progression to bank president with the Financial Gleaner.
The official biography of Mr. Wray reveals that he earned his B.A. in Economics and M.B.A. in International Business from George Washington University in D.C. But he says, "The only school that I have attended that really counts is St. George's." Born in Kingston in January 1962, Mr. Wray states, "I have a wonderful family. I have a brother, two teenage boys and a
great support system." After completing his education, Mr. Wray came back to Jamaica because he had always wanted to, and secondly, "Cold reach me big time." His professional banking foray began at Jamaica Citizens Bank (JCB) in July of 1988. "During that year, JCB started to focus on corporate banking. I came on staff as corporate banking manager and part of that job entailed dealing with marketing of the banks products." By the time he left JCB in 1992, he was the marketing manager at the retail commercial division and manager of the corporate banking arm. From there he went to Manufacturers Merchant Bank. "I started out as assistant vice-president of credit and marketing and when I left in December of 1995, I was vice-president of credit, marketing and treasury."
CUSTOMER AT HEART
If you notice, Mr. Wray's career up to this point was not about number-crunching. Of this he states, "I don't have an operation background. My career has always been customer-focused. It is about customer relationship building." This is not to say that Mr. Wray doesn't know his way around a balance sheet. He is a licensed securities dealer and has had professional training in credit analysis; valuations; asset liability management; bank marketing; financial markets; and risk and private banking.
And so, by 1995 Mr. Wray was recruited as the managing director of Citizens Merchant Bank. Describing the role of a merchant bank he says, "A merchant bank's job is to satisfy the needs of clients, and if you don't have the product, you can make a commission by sourcing another financial institution's product." Mr. Wray stayed at the merchant bank for two years.
Now, during the mid-90s, the country was deep in the throes of a financial sector meltdown precipitated by a high interest rate policy. Deposit taking institutions were haemorrhaging. In 1997, Grace, Kennedy & Co. Ltd. came knocking on his door. Mr. Wray was offered the position as managing director of Grace's merchant bank, George & Branday (G&B).
RESTRUCTURING AT G&B
"In 1997, George & Branday was not spared the ravages of high interest rates. Grace decided to restructure and re-brand the bank." Mr. Wray explains: "At the end of 1996, G&B just started in the funds management business. We had $1 billion under management and 1,500 customers. We decided to move away from loans. The focus was to prepare for a new banking environment. We were looking for the solid ground. We decided to focus on income generation from asset management, foreign exchange trading and trade financing. We still had a loan portfolio but we had a group of staff that focused on getting down that portfolio in terms of collecting or writing off the debt." And the shift in focus paid off. Mr. Wray states, "By December 2003, inclusive of our securities company, we had $15 billion under management, $170 million in profits and a customer base of 4,000 persons."
But Mr. Wray doesn't take any credit for the turnaround. He states that the credit belongs to the customers and the staff. "Our customer base has always been stable. They like the personal service that we give. Our clients can find the managers and have direct access to them." In terms of his staff, "When I first went to G&B, I made it my point of duty to meet with each staff member one-to-one. Even now, my staff members know that if they needed help, they can ask me. My job is to mobilise the team and encourage them to give their best every day."
The reward of Mr. Wray's hard work is the position of president of the new entity created by the merger of First Global Bank and George & Branday. Mr. Wray is confident that in his new role he will continue to be the link person for Grace. "In the last 10 years, we contributed more and more to Grace's bottom line. And that's because banking is about people and having confidence in people."
