Podesta and Sene will formally take up their new roles on 2 May. Their appointments have been approved by the Gibraltar regulator, the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, the Gibraltar government announced yesterday.
As reported, the Gibraltar Government approved plans for a new “credit institution” in December, as it sought to partially fill what it said was a need in the marketplace for greater banking capacity. The need was seen as having been made more pressing by the announcement, last year, by Barclays that it was planning to reduce its presence in Gibraltar.
Podesta joins the Gibraltar International Bank from his current position as chief operating officer and deputy chief executive officer at Lombard Odier Gibraltar, an arm of the Swiss private bank. He has been with Lombard Odier since 1996. He began his banking career as a client relationship clerk with Barclays in 1976, and is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments.
Sene's most recent position was head of personal and premier banking at Barclays in Gibraltar, where he has worked since 1974. During this time he has served on the Committee of the Gibraltar Bankers
Association.
October opening targeted
Government officials have said they are hopeful that the GIB – as the new bank is informally known in Gibraltar, which itself is also often known informally as Gib – will officially be open by October. Questions about how the bank is to be financed, however, have been raised, according to a recent report in the Gibraltar Chronicle.
Albert Isola, Gibraltar's minister for financial services and gaming, noted that between them, Podesta and Sene have a total of "almost 80 years of experience in banking".
This, he said, made him "confident in their ability to drive this important and exciting project forward".
Financial sector role
Among the markets the new GIB bank is seen as servicing, once it is operational, are the jurisdiction's financial services industry. This includes a large and growing funds industry, which is seen as needing depositary services in order to meet the rigorous requirements of EU's Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, which came into force last July, and set new minimum standards for alternative investment fund managers who wish to market their products across Europe.
