The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor BAF Financial's owners believe they have "awoken the sleeping giant" during their first five years at the helm, "tripling profits" and doubling total assets to $150 million during that period while also expanding to other Caribbean markets. Chester Cooper, BAF's president and chief executive, and a principal in the BAB Holdings group that led the 2007 management buyout of the former British American Insurance Company, told Tribune Business that he and his partners had "exceeded expectations" during this period, increasing their total client base by around one-third (33 per cent) to 100,000. Speaking to this newspaper on the fifth anniversary of the buyout, Mr Cooper said that while life insurance would remain its core heritage product, BAF Financial holding a 20 per cent share of the Bahamian market, the company's decision to re-brand and become a full financial service provider had been more than justified by subsequent results. And, after adding investment funds, pensions, annuities, mortgages and credit cards to its product offering over the 2007-2012 period, Mr Cooper disclosed that BAF Financial was continuing to innovate with the upcoming launch of a Property Fund and a Caribbean Bond Fund. Revealing that BAF Financial had on average tripled profits over the 2007-2010 period, compared to the previous five years, Mr Cooper told Tribune Business: "On a group basis our client base has increased from roughly 75,000 in 2007 to almost 100,000 in 2012. "We have doubled assets over the five-year period to almost $150 million, and when you look at the previous five-year average, compared to 2007-2010, we have tripled the profits of the company. "Life insurance continues to be our core business with roughly 20 per cent of market share in the Bahamas. Whilst our investment and financial products have deepened our market penetration, we fully expect for life insurance to continue to be our bread and butter for the foreseeable future." Mr Cooper said BAF Financial had achieved its improved performance despite the Bahamas, and world economy, enduring what he described as the most prolonged, deepest recession since the 1930s Great Depression. He attributed this to" strategic, prudent, nimble and efficient management", and added: "By and large, the tough times forced us to be better and more efficient at what we do, and pushed us to do more with less." Explaining the decision to re-brand the former British American Insurance Company to BAF Financial & Insurance Company, Mr Cooper said it was done partly to distinguish the firm as a separate entity from the CL Financial-owned British American Insurance Company (BALCO). The latter, now in liquidation, had been separated from the Bahamian company that Mr Cooper and his partner took over many years ago, but they wanted to ensure there was absolutely no doubt for consumers. "The rebranding sought to capture the traditionalism and strength of the past 90 years, being known and trusted in the Bahamas, whilst showing the new more vibrant, cutting edge and dynamic presence of the new full financial services firm," Mr Cooper told Tribune Business. "I think it has resonated quite well in the market. We continue to work at it; building a brand takes time and commitment." And he added: "In our discussion on the economy, we tend to forget that the last five years have been perhaps the most tumultuous period in the insurance industry in the Bahamas in recent memory. We saw the failure of CLICO and BAICO i.e. British American offices in the other Caribbean countries. "We needed to differentiate ourselves so as not to be confused, and the name change served to separate us from the defunct British American in Cayman, which we were in the process of acquiring at the time. "In summary, we wanted to be a recognisable brand to our second and third generation clients, but also to put forward a dynamic, cutting-edge, client responsive and approachable face for the public." Mr Cooper told Tribune Business that the move to transform BAF from a traditional life/health insurance provider into one with a full financial services product menu had been designed to generate organic growth, capturing more business from its initial 75,000 client base by catering to all their financial needs. "We quickly realised that having 75,000 clients out of a population of 300,000, it made more sense to firstly capture all the business of our existing clients and solidify that position, rather than chasing market share in a fairly saturated market," the BAF chief executive explained. "The transformation was in keeping with our mission statement 'to protect and secure the lives, assets and aspirations of our clients by delivering financial solutions that reflect our commitment to continuously understand and meet the needs of our stakeholders and our community'." Mr Cooper added that BAF also made a conscious decision to enhance the market for savings products, something for which there is not enough demand in the Bahamas. "We recognised that there was a niche market in the Bahamas for safe, high quality financial products," he explained. "We have a 'Big Mac - Large Fries' culture in the Bahamas where we consume a lot and save very little. "Less than 25 per cent of Bahamians have pension plans, and this position has not improved in 20 years. We have an obligation to financially educate our people and provide them the opportunity to retire in comfort." Apart from focusing on the Bahamas, BAF Financial has also led the way among the few Bahamian companies looking to grow and expand outside this nation's borders in the wider Caribbean region. It acquired the CLICO operation in the Cayman Islands in 2009 from bankrupt Trinidad-based behemoth, CL Financial, and has also moved into the Bahamas' southern neighbour in the shape of Turks & Caicos. Looking ahead, Mr Cooper said that apart from "solidifying our position" in its existing three markets, BAF Financial was also focusing on the development of "new investment products, inclusive of a Property Fund and a Caribbean Bond Fund". The latter, he added, will be denominated in US dollars and domiciled in the Cayman Islands. Looking back at BAF's achievements over the past five years, Mr Cooper told Tribune Business: "We have exceeded expectations. Our objective was to awaken the sleeping giant, and to bring the company back to the prominent position as the leader in the life insurance industry that it enjoyed for many decades in the Bahamas. 'Specifically, we have introduced cutting-edge products and services in our core life and health insurance business; advanced the full financial services offering of our company, building around the core to add investment services, pensions, annuities, mortgages, credit cards and mutual funds; and expanded in the region. "During 2012 we will continue to find greater efficiencies in our various businesses. The advantage of the sustained recession is that it has forced us to be better at what we do. We have become even more efficient in providing operational excellence, and being even more responsive to the needs of our existing loyal client base."