Markham
August 28, 2008 08:31 PM
Chris Traber
A bank, originating 12 decades ago in Nova Scotia and relocated to Bermuda, has returned to its Canadian roots in Markham.
The Bank of Bermuda, incorporated in 1890 after Bermudian merchants took over an island branch of the Merchants’ Bank of Halifax, opened a new call centre here last Friday.
The outsourcing strategy is a bid to improve and expand its customer service, including 24/7 debit and credit card support, bank communications manager Kim Wheddon said.
“We recognized there was a need to provide enhanced and extended hour customer service support to our clients,” she said. “Moving the call centre to Markham will allow us to provide (that) support. In the future, we hope to increase the number of services that benefit from call centre support and (the Markham location) will provide us with the flexibility to do this.
The bank, a member of the HSBC Group since 2004, spent the last year ensuring a smooth transition and the relocation of former call centre staff.
“During this time, we have worked with affected staff to identify new opportunities and roles within the Bank of Bermuda,”Ms Wheddon said. “We continue to relocate staff to other roles and are hopeful to retain the majority, if not all of the staff affected.”
The offshore bank’s new facility shares existing HSBC Bank Canada offices at 19 Allstate Pkwy. and employs approximately 30 people.
More than 118 years ago, businesses on the tiny Atlantic Ocean island, approximately 600 miles east of North Carolina, bought the Canadian branch to compete with N.T. Butterfield & Son.
Bermuda, a tropical tourist playground and the northern tip of the mythical triangle, is also an offshore tax haven.
The Bank of Bermuda provides customized trust, custody, financial advisory, and asset management services to institutional investors and wealthy individuals and families worldwide.
The financial institution also performs cash management services for the numerous insurance companies domiciled in Bermuda. With more than 15 offices around the globe, the company specializes in such alternative investment vehicles as hedge funds, emerging markets funds and private equity.
Domestically, it offers traditional banking, mortgage and credit and debit card services.
The bank’s operations in global locations were amalgamated with HSBC in 2004.