Starting as a counter clerk at the Royal Bank of Canada, Keith Johnson has now not only achieved the post of Regional Manager - Opera-tions at NBIC but also graduated valedictorian in his class at the Centre for Management Studies at the University of the West Indies.
He feels that he achieved his excellent results from a mixture of hard work and luck. "When I started the programme I told myself I would work towards graduating with a distinction. At UG (University of Guyana) I also got a distinction so I knew I could do it." Quite modestly he said, "graduating at the top of the class was unexpected, what mattered was the distinction. It was very hard going, but it paid off in the long run and I am happy my goal was accomplished. Being at the top is icing on the cake."
Johnson was born in Georgetown and grew up with his parents and seven siblings in Albouystown. He credits his success to his parents, saying, "it doesn't matter where you grow up it is the training of one's parents." One thing he learned is that, "you should be ambitious and strive to improve your lot and not be content until you can do better. The value of education was driven into us."
His educational foundation was laid at the Carmel RC Primary School and then St Stanislaus College. He was successful in English, Mathematics, French, Spa-nish, Biology and History at the GCE o Level. he started the sixth form in September 1974. However, he admits that he lost interest in school and went to work at the Bishop's House as a Bookkeeper. This was where the Roman Catholic Bishop lived and where the administrative office for all Catholic schools in Guyana was located. His responsibility was to collect salaries for the 21 schools in the Rupununi.
In 1976 the government announced an intention to take over the administration of all denominational schools. The office at the Bishop's house was then scheduled to close in August of that year. He then applied for the third time to the Royal Bank of Canada, was called in for an interview and was successful. He said, "I always wanted to work at a bank since it was prestigious and the salary was better than other jobs. Also I was excited about the prospects for development both professionally and as a person." This was the start of a successful and rewarding career in the world of banking.
He started as a counter clerk "as most people" at the time in the savings department.
He then went on to the loans department, then to cash operations. Here he was first a clerk, before moving on to teller which was considered a slightly higher position.
He gained valuable experience working at the bank's many branches including the Camp Street, Broad Street, Anna Regina, and Anna Catherina branches. Then he was transferred to the Ruimveldt branch located in the Rotunda Building at Thirst Park. He went on to the Rosehall branch before being transferred to New Amsterdam in 1981 where he landed his first supervisory position.
Back in Georgetown he was appointed supervisor of the foreign banking department where he worked until 1986. During this period he qualified by virtue of his experience to enrol in the banking operations programme run by the Institute of Canadian Banking and successfully completed it in 1987.
In 1986 Johnson got married and was also promoted to a junior management position in the Audit/ Accounting Depart-ment. On June 1, 1987 the bank reopened its office at Rosehall, and he went there as the second in charge.
In November 1988, the year of his first child Maurissa, Keith returned to Georgetown as head of the audit/accounting department, before heading back to Rosehall as the manager. Johnson now has four children Maurissa 15, Kevin 13, Chrystelle 10 and Richard 8.
From April 1991, he was in charge of the audit/accounting department at the main branch and three years later went to the commercial credit department. He headed the internal audit department for the next two years before becoming the manager of branch operations directly in charge of main branch operations as well as the entire branch network.
Then 1992 found him reading for a Degree in accountancy at UG, which he completed with a distinction in 1996. During the nineties the bank was undergoing an expansion drive that saw branches being opened in Linden (1994), Corriverton (1995), Anna Regina (1997) and Rosignol (1998). In 2001 it went through a re-organisation of its management structure appointing a separate manager to head the main Branch, while Johnson remained as the manager of the entire network.
"It was becoming evident, that to advance one needed more than a first degree. In the older days experience could carry you through but now qualifications count. Since a lot of senior executives in banking across the Caribbean including Guyana are highly qualified," Johnson noted. Hence the pursuit of the Executive Masters in Business Administration.
He surmised that because "banking impacts and influences the national economy it is important that there are capable people who can analyze, assess and assimilate various situations." He added that more confidence is generated to the general public when the people in charge of their affairs are qualified. An issue that bothers him right now is the treatment of Guyanese by the Barbadian immigration authorities, who he thinks, "need to realize Guyana does produce people of quality, and begin to treat Guyanese with much more respect."
NBIC on February 1837, as the then British Guiana Bank. On November 17, 1913 operations were sold to the Royal Bank of Canada. Assets and liabilities of the Guyana operations of the Royal Bank of Canada were acquired by the government for the nominal price of $1 on November 29, 1984 and vested in the National Bank of Industry and Commerce Limited (NIBC) on Decem-ber 1, 1984. Before the official handover the Royal Bank closed all its branches. In 1997 the bank became a subsidiary of Republic Bank Limited of Trinidad and Tobago. At September 30, 2002 the stockholdings of Republic Bank Limited in the Bank were 51%.