Banking on Valley business future

BY SARA KEDDY

Kings County Register

The bank has its eye on business: growing its own, but also handling customers’ needs.

Berwick Royal Bank manager Terri Gale and Atlantic region president Greg Rice received a round of applause at a May 3 reception in Berwick as they announced the bank would be adding staff and expanding teller services to 5 p.m.

“It’s customer service,” Gale said, “and we’re open for business. We’re looking for business. It used to be you put on your Sunday suit and came in hat in hand; now, we come to you.”

Rice said RBC is proud to have a strong presence in the Valley, and said it’s a place the bank wants to see business grow. Branches in the Valley all now have a small business advisor in house, hours have been extended, service fee programs could see customers go to zero charges, there are agricultural business advisors and mortgage specialists to go right to clients’ door. Branches will also see refurbished interiors in coming months

“We are investing in our business and in our customers,” Rice said. “We want all your business, and we will provide incentives for you to come to us - leave nothing for the competitors.”

Royal Bank has 900,000 clients in Atlantic Canada.

The Valley business blitz tied in nicely with a snappy presentation from Kings Community Economic Development Agency manager Erin Beaudin.

“We have a lot to offer business here,” she said. “We have been faced with challenges, but we do have opportunities.”

Kings CED just completed a business retention survey of 450 county businesses.

“Often people think of economic development - let’s get those new businesses here - but we have strong business here and we need to look after what we have,” Beaudin said.

The survey asked businesses to rank the Kings business climate: less than five per cent thought the county was a poor place to do business, half thought opportunities were greater in 2006 than in 2001, and figured 2011 would be better still; the workforce was ranked as good, with an even split among employers on the issue of skills scarcity. Forty per cent of businesses expected to hire staff through 2007.

“Ninety-one per cent would recommend Kings County as a place to do business - that’s a message we need to get out. It’s not all doom and gloom.”