James Ronald Webster has been recorded in the history of Anguilla as having emerged as the island’s revolutionary leader following the 1967 revolution against the then Government of St. Kitts-Nevis headed by the late Premier Robert Bradshaw.

James Ronald Webster, CCB Founder

Mr. Webster was at the time a multi-millionaire, having benefited handsomely from the Mary Frances Estate which he inherited in St. Maarten. He recalls that in the early days of the revolution there were two commercial banks in Anguilla: Barclays Bank and Mid Atlantic Bank. “They didn’t serve the purpose that we wanted,” he recalled. “We made several attempts to get some assistance from them and for some reason we were not allowed to deal with banking matters unless they were done through St. Kitts and, as time went on, we decided to come up with our own system.”

In those days, Mr. Webster had more than enough money not only to finance the revolution – like paying civil servants – but later on to help establish a banking business to better serve the financial and social development interests of the Anguillian people. “I possessed an estate in St. Maarten valued around eight million US dollars. I was able to use some of those funds to run the island for some time and to do other developments that were possible,” Webster stated. “I was at least in a good financial position to do anything that I wanted.”

He said he had no problem dealing with banks in St. Maarten because “they knew my value but in Anguilla the then two banks did not want to get involved in the politics of the island, fearing Mr. Bradshaw. “They closed their doors to us and we then had to open other avenues to get Anguilla moving.”

But the day was not far off when Anguilla would have its first local-owned commercial bank. Indeed, Mr. Webster recalls that it was in 1976 that he and the late Dr. William Herbert decided to form a bank on the island. Three other persons volunteered to register as nominees. They were Alexis Knight, Dr. Herbert’s Kittitian brother-in-law; Marcas Van-Heyningen and Felix Richardson.

“We shuffled around for a name and eventually came up with Caribbean Mortgage Bank. This was because the bank was intended to provide full banking services to Anguilla just as the other two international banks – Barclays and Mid-Atlantic – were doing. We wanted to offer a more prestigious name and eventually decided on ‘Caribbean Commercial Bank.’ CCB, as it is now known, for short, was incorporated on November 5, 1976 and started doing business as a fully-fledged financial institution on July 15, 1977. There was a staff of two persons – the Manager, Preston Bryan and Marjorie Horsford, Secretary, and a cleaner. Dr. Herbert and Mr. Webster were the first directors. Later, Watkin Hodge registered as a shareholder and in 1980 the decision was taken to offer shares to the nominees as well.

The shares were as follows: Dr. Herbert and Mr. Webster 1,300 each; Felix Richardson and three of his brothers, 1,780 in total; Watkin Hodge 200; Alexis Knight 320; and Preston Bryan 100 shares. There were 5,000 shares altogether at one dollar each.

Within one year, the share capital was increased to one million at one dollar per share. At that time, Felix Richardson and his brothers retired from the scene and Osbourne Flemingand Jeremiah Gumbs were invited to join as shareholders, bringing the number to six.

On September 22, 1993, the shareholders’ capital was increased to two million and in 1994, to three million. The third allocation of shares was for preferred customers only.

With the coming into operation of the new Banking Act regulations, CCB opted to become a public company and to sell shares to over eleven persons, thus requiring the preparation of a prospectus.

Webster presents CCB Gift Certificate

Within the past 29 years plus, the management and staff grew from two persons to 48 and the shareholders from two to 71.
Since the establishment of CCB, thousands of ordinary people, who would not have been served by the former international banks, have been privileged to obtain loans to meet their difficult needs.

“It is CCB’s desire to improve the economic wellbeing of its customers,” says Mr. Webster. “CCB has made more progress than anticipated and has outgrown its present facilities.

“The Board of Directors has resolved to construct an additional 10,000 square feet of space west of the existing building to include a basement for storage and office accommodation for up to 100 staff members.

“CCB will provide a special service for customers. They will be given a ticket on arrival with a number indicating his or her priority for service in order and their approximate waiting time. Each customer, particularly the elderly, will then be comfortably seated to await service. Other features will be added as the need arises.”

Mr. Webster, a one time Chairman of CCB, went on: “The management and staff are working very hard to satisfy the customers’ needs and are determined to set the highest standards of banking in Anguilla.

“The bank is optimistic about its future plans to develop strategies to meet the technological and competitive challenges in international banking services. It is determined, by the grace of God, to make the seemingly impossibilities possible. We shall continue to serve our customers with dignity, pride, fairness and self-respect. Everyone can be assured that their investments in CCB are given high esteem.

“You have made CCB what it is today by your prayers, presence and support. The success the bank has achieved is not an accident. It is by careful planning and delivery of service at the right time.

“On behalf of the Shareholders, Directors, Management and Staff, we extend sincere greetings to you, our customers, friends and supporters.Do have a Merry Christmas and a bright and prosperous New Year.”

Revolutionary Leader & CCB Founder

Mr. Webster has been described in the recent annals of Anguillian history as “‘the Moses of Anguilla”. Having blazed a clear path of self-determination in the political and constitutional life of the island, he turned his attention to the social and economic wellbeing of his people to add to their fortunes. He has achieved tremendous success in the banking industry, through CCB, and through Social Security, the fastest growing public sector undertaking in Anguilla.

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