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ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE LAUNCH OF “A CENTURY OF BANKING”

ADDRESS BY PRESIDENT MARY McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE LAUNCH OF “A CENTURY OF BANKING” ON 12 MAY, 1998

I would like to say how grateful I am to the Institute of Bankers – and to Pat Rock, the Chief Executive, in particular – for inviting me to mark the centenary of the Institute - by launching this book by Dan White. I commend Pat for choosing today – May 12th – as it was on this day in 1898 that a temporary committee met for the first time – and issued a circular proposing that an “Institute of Bankers for Ireland” should be formed. Happily the Institute was formed – and held its opening meeting on 29 October 1898 in Trinity College. A century later – another committee – the ‘centenary history committee’ – under the Chairmanship of Gerry Murphy - has been meeting to organise the marking of the Institute’s centenary – and to “oversee” this project undertaken so skillfully by Dan White.

It strikes me that the Institute is very taken with the concept of “committee” – a concept that has not always enjoyed a good reputation. For example – didn’t somebody once say that “to get something done, a committee should consist of no more that three – two of whom are absent” – or “the best way to kill a good idea is to get a committee to work on it” – and that “a committee is a group of people appointed to find some innocent individual to do the work”. Without casting any aspersions on Dan White – or expressing any view on his “innocence” – I think that these “wise sayings” have been well and truly dismissed in the completion of “A Century of Banking”. It is an excellent read – and a very easy read – and goes an awful long way in dispelling the myth that banking or bankers are in any way dull.

The book deals comprehensively with the personalities and events in the life of the Institute – setting in its historical context – and reflecting the many changes that have taken place on this island in a century that has seen profound change – as it moved from a predominantly agricultural and rural economy to a sophisticated and thriving country – with a totally changed and progressive agricultural sector – and a state of the art industrial base – both of which compete successfully on the international stage.

The book gets us behind the big banks of today – and gives us a glimpse of the people who developed them to what and where they are now. In all of that change – the Institute has been central in encouraging training and education where and when it was needed – and as a professional body - serving the interests of banks and bankers - and since it is said, that “some people’s only interest in life comes from their bank account” – serving the public interest too. For most of us – our first encounter with a bank was as a place where we saved – because our parents had learnt the bitter lesson that savings banks operate on the principle that ‘spending costs money’!

In the metamorphosis that has taken place over the last century – and especially over the last few decades - the banks have been pivotal as the facilitators of the huge investments that were required. As David Hume – the Scottish philosopher put it over 250 years ago – “Money . . . is none of the wheels of trade: it is the oil which renders the motion of the wheels more smooth and easy”. The readiness of the banks to play their part is reflected in the many different types of bank – and banking products – that we have today – banks that cater for all needs – from the personal account to the large business accounts. I don’t know if it is still there – but I recall a drive-in bank near Baggot Street Hospital - and how some wag said that the reason it was put there was because “the real owner of a car could get to see it once in a while”!

Recent events have shown how complex is the relationship between bank and customer. It is a relationship that is always striving for equilibrium – and it is a delicate balance that relies heavily on trust. The Institute has a key role to play in engendering trust – and in promoting an ethos that allows customer and bank to work together in harmony. The role and importance of a body such as the Institute of Bankers takes on a new significance – as the imperative becomes one of regaining lost ground – coping with the changes that it necessitates - and restoring that precious equilibrium which is so essential for a healthy banking sector.

Change and coping with change is a feature of banking life – just as it is in all walks of life. The pace of change that you face today requires flexibility and open-mindedness – if you are to survive and prosper. As the book points out – the ability to change has been a feature of the Institute – which came about as a result of developments in the banking sector a century ago. A glowing example of the developing banking industry – was the establishment of the International Financial Services Centre in Dublin – which is 10 years old this year - to provide new services and products to corporations who have the world as their market place.

As I’ve already said – Dan White has done an excellent job on researching and compiling his material – and in producing a very readable and entertaining book – and I would like to congratulate both Dan and the Centenary Committee - for giving us this valuable and interesting account of the “Life and Times of the Institute of Bankers in Ireland” - over the last 100 years – and for proving that ‘committees’ do indeed work – especially at the Institute of Bankers!