The Tribune

Commonwealth Bank’s shareholders have voted unanimously to return all 10 directors to the Board at its Annual General Meeting.

The bank earned net income of $36 million in 2012 despite economic challenges, and had continued its commitment to return 65 per cent of all earnings with shareholders.

“You know the saying: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’,” said one shareholder. “This team has been working together for a long time, and they are obviously good at governing this bank and that is good for us.”

Re-elected were Rupert W. Roberts Jr; Vaughn W. Higgs; R. Craig Symonette; William B. Sands, Jr; Ian A. Jennings; George C. Culmer; Earla J. Bethel; Larry R. Gibson; Marcus C. Bethel; and Robert D.L. Sands.

Six of the 10 elected members are businesspeople, one is an accountant, one a company executive and William B. Sands, Jr., who has been with the bank for more than 40 years, is the executive chairman.

Mr Roberts, owner of Super Value, is the longest-serving director. He was first elected in 1984 and has been returned every year since. More than half the board has served for a decade or more.

Commonwealth Bank has 11 branches and numerous branch and off-site ABMs for 24-hour, seven day a week banking in Nassau, Abaco and Grand Bahama.

It recently relocated its Oakes Field branch to a temporary site in the Burns House building on John F. Kennedy Drive and Bethel Avenue, after fire forced the closure of the Oakes Field premises.