Alliance Bank gets a new name

In September of this year the Alliance Bank changed ownership, and with that came a competition entitled—Name that Bank. The bank invited submissions for a new name that would reflect its amalgamation with the Provident Bank. Well, that competition came to a close and today at its offices located on Princess Margaret Drive, the bank announced the winner. Duane Moody was there and has this report.

Duane Moody, Reporting
There were hundreds of submissions for a name for the amalgamated Alliance and Provident Banks. They were short listed and interestingly, five persons submitted Heritage as the new name.

Steven Duncan, Managing Director, Alliance & Provident Bank
“The board had to sit down and type up these names, go through them, type them up, make their selections. We did a shortlist and we went around so many times it was very difficult. It took us a time to come up with it actually and the deadline that we originally set, we actually missed it partly because it was such a difficult task to choose and partly because we had to get the proper level of approvals from authorities from two different bodies we had to get approval in the country. The board is made up of seven members and we probably started off with seven different names because each had his or her own preference. But we eventually were able to get a consensus on the name Heritage after some discussion and back and forth.”

But there could only be one winner and at a draw of the five ballots, twenty-one year old Jacqueline Ifield took home the grand prize of one thousand U.S. dollars and a seven day all expense paid trip to Cancun. Accepting the prizes on her behalf was her mother, Rita Cole.

Rita Cole, Mother of Name the Bank Winner
“Up to this morning she said, mommy, mommy, I hope they pick my name. I would like to go on that trip and thing. Ih she I work hard to come up with that bane and I wish I win. I win. I know she said she came up with several names but afterwards she choose that name.”

Duane Moody
“So you gwein go enjoy di trip wid ah?”

Rita Cole
“I wish I can.”

Duane Moody
“Why is it that she couldn’t be here today?”

Rita Cole
“She is sick and she got a week off from work. She is at home right now.”

Duncan says the bank will offer new services to customers.

Steven Duncan
“We are adding one thing to the existing logo. Effectively what he is saying is that we will build on our heritage. We will keep that logo but we are going to built on it to demonstrate that we are not scrapping the past. Several people have contributed to this organization over the years and their work was not in vain. We are now working also on our product line and we intend to have some variations, some products, new ways of doing business and so all these things we are working on to try to make a tangible difference in the eyes of the public and our customers.”

Duane Moody
“The offices will still be at the same locations?”

Steven Duncan
“Yes, we are not changing anything as yet but I will say it is our ambition to have brand new offices but these things take a little while to build.”

The name and logo will be launched on the bank’s anniversary in the first week in January. According to Duncan, the project for the banks new offices will commence in 2010. Duane Moody, reporting for News Five.

The four other persons who also submitted the name Heritage Bank did not go home empty-handed as they all received a prepaid MasterCard valued at one hundred Belize dollars.