Tribute by Audrey Anderson, Senior Deputy Governor, Bank of Jamaica
It was with a deep sense of sadness and regret that we at the Bank of Jamaica learned of the death of Oscar Benjamin Simpson, 'OB', as we all affectionately called him, who served the Bank with honour and distinction for twenty-seven years.
Today, we mourn as an institution because we know we are saying goodbye to a colleague and friend. And we mourn with his wife Winnie, children Nigel, Mark, Dawn and Brian, their children and all of OB's extended family, because we know that their loss is personal and profound and we are grateful for their willingness to share it with us.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, the management, staff, retirees and pensioners of the Bank of Jamaica, and in particular, the staff of the Bank Supervision Division, I extend deepest sympathy to his family on the loss they have suffered — a loss that is shared by the entire Bank of Jamaica family. And, I too have lost a dear friend and mentor.
OB holds a special place in the history of the Bank as he was one of the first employees, having joined the staff on March 1st 1961. When he applied for a position at the Bank, OB, with his usual candour admitted that his "banking experience was limited as I have never been employed in any bank before." But, having been invited to an interview, he obviously acquitted himself very well as it was noted in the records that, 'Simpson was quite a promising applicant and should be considered for employment'. One of his referees said of OB: "[I] can, without reserve, testify that he bears an excellent and irreproachable character." But it is the words of the then Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, where OB worked before coming to the Bank, which best exemplified OB's performance and character: "I have found him diligent, conscientious and pleasing in manner. I have formed the opinion that he is a man of honesty and integrity".
Having joined the Bank as a First Class Clerk in 1961, OB worked in several areas of the Bank, including Currency, Banking and Exchange Control and, moving up the ranks, was appointed Assistant Head of Department in 1968. 1973 was to be a turning point in OB's career at the Bank as, in that year, Bank of Jamaica assumed responsibility for bank supervision, which duties had been previously undertaken by the Ministry of Finance. When the then Governor, the late Hon. G. Arthur Brown was appointed Inspector of Banks, in February 1973, 0. B. Simpson was one of the members of staff he selected to assist him in carrying out these duties and he was appointed the Assistant Director of the newly-established Bank Inspection Department. In June 1974, he acted as head of the department; was appointed Deputy Inspector of Banks in September 1974 and in January 1975, Head of the Bank Inspection Department. OB served in that capacity until he retired from the Bank in 1987.
During his time in Bank Supervision he laid the foundation for the development of bank regulation at the Central Bank, a foundation on which we continue to build today. He was one of the early trailblazers at a time when the whole idea of bank regulation was not understood and consequently came in for some resistance. His work therefore brought prominence to the critical importance of bank supervision to the health of any economy.
OB's influence was not confined to the local arena, but extended into the wider Caribbean as he was to become one of the "founding members" of the Caribbean Group of Banking Supervisors, which was the second such regional grouping to be established worldwide. To provide some perspective, today there are some 15 such regional groupings. On a regional level, OB also broke ground in helping to bring into being a formalized Caribbean Bank Supervision Training Programme, geared to providing expert training for bank examiners and supervisors from all the Caribbean Central Banks charged with responsibility for regulation of their banking sectors, to ensure that there was a harmonized approach across the region. In this regard he coordinated and delivered presentations at bank supervision training programmes and served as an expert speaker at several technical supervision conferences. It is this regional work combined with his excellent track record at the Bank of Jamaica, that no doubt led, on his retirement, to his services being contracted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a consultant to the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, to provide technical assistance in strengthening bank supervision practices and capacities in that jurisdiction. In fact among his peers he was regarded as the "Dean" of supervision - I suppose today we would have called him the "Don"!!! As clear evidence of the high regard in which he was held, there has been an outpouring of warm remembrances and sentiments from his former supervisory colleagues within the region who learnt of his passing, some of whom have attested to the significant influence that he had on their choice of career and growth in bank supervision.
For my own part I really came to know OB when I was transferred from Exchange Control to the still fairly new operational area of Bank Inspection in early 1979. This move turned out for me to be a major and pivotal career changer. I went to this new department with some amount of trepidation, but quickly realized that in OB I had again been lucky in gaining a boss who not only respected his staff but would go out to bat for them when necessary. OB became my mentor in bank supervision policy and practices - someone we could all depend on to guide us in this new and at first, often bewildering landscape of bank regulation. OB was also instrumental in pressing me to my fullest potential as a career Bank Supervisor, as had it not been for his almost bullying me into applying for the position of Departmental Head at the point of his retirement, my career path might have been quite different. I recall that even when he officially retired from the BOJ, the Bank retained his services on contract for a further year. As the then brand new Director of the Department his continuing presence during this transition period certainly gave me a significant level of comfort, knowing he was still available to bounce ideas off and provide always wise counsel. I will forever be grateful for his sincere encouragement and steadfast confidence in me which so strongly supported my own growth and development as an individual and team leader.
But, for OB, it wasn't a case of all work and no play - his ethos was one of teamwork and family and under OB we were all one big work family. OB had an infectious optimism about life and enjoyed it to the full. He possessed a keen sense of humour, enjoyed a good joke and had a very hearty and distinctive laugh; and he was a great admirer of the female form. Never one to take himself too seriously, he had the ability to laugh at himself and enjoyed regaling us with stories of 'when he lived in England' during the 1950s. Always polite and genteel, with an almost old world courtliness, OB would never willingly cause hurt to others. He was always looking for the good in each person and, with his endearing personality, he had the remarkable ability to make all human encounters, however fleeting, feel both special and personal. He was slow to anger but when you saw him lift his chin and draw himself up to his full 5 foot plus frame, you knew he wasn't at all pleased. Never one to back down from a challenge, he would let you know very clearly that he had no intention of losing, as his stock response was always — "If I allowed you to beat me or best me, I would never be able to go home to Miss Winnie!"
OB loved sports, particularly football and cricket. He used to tell us stories of his vaunted exploits on the cricket pitch and football field in the very early days on behalf of the Bank of Jamaica. I must, however, confess that, as I wasn't there, I cannot verify those reports and would have to leave it up to persons like Walter Campbell and Alfred Grant to corroborate his tales. And to hear him tell it, he was a 'mean' domino player in the Hope Pastures domino fraternity, and his weekend domino games became the stuff of legend. And who could forget OB on the dance floor at our Christmas parties and regular Bank Inspection shindigs. The many photographs of him and his dancing partners will attest to his great enthusiasm in that arena. OB loved to entertain and this continued when his home base moved to Mammee Bay, where it was always his joy to welcome us when we were in his neck of the woods.
And last, but by no means least, OB loved his family. His life was not only rich in public achievement, but also in private happiness. In fact, I make bold to say that his achievements at the Bank were rooted in his private happiness. I am sure that if he could, he would agree with me that the greatest turning point in his life was when he met and married his beloved Winnie. Those of us who knew and worked with him knew of his love for and devotion to Winnie - the testimony of a loving and grateful husband. His love for his children, and later, his grandchildren, was deep and unqualified. He revelled in their accomplishments, he hurt with their sorrows and he felt sheer joy and delight in the time he spent with them. At the mere mention of their names his eyes would light up and his smile grow wider. We share their grief today, but we also share, I am sure, their pride.
During the final years of his life, OB's mind was clouded by illness. We knew he was getting tired and we knew it might happen but we did not want to see him go. But we also know that that cloud has now lifted and he is himself again, perhaps even more-so than at any time he was on this earth. And as the last journey of this faithful pilgrim took him beyond the sunset, and as heavens morning broke, I would like to think that, as John Bunyan wrote, "... he passed over and all the trumpets sounded for him on the other side."
OB's heart belonged to the Bank which he served with style and unswerving dignity and commitment, and he will always be remembered with love and affection by the Bank of Jamaica family. His passing may have left a vacuum in many lives but we are all richer for having known this true gentleman and having experienced the joy of his presence and the principles he represented — a determination to succeed, humility, an innate sense of fair play, a tremendous sense of service, his humanity and compassion for others.
He was indeed a true friend and a wonderful human being!
We, who are still here however, are fortunate in that we have one beacon to guide us that OB never had. We have his example. His values were strong. They are timeless, and they will endure.
May his memory lighten our grief and may his soul rest in peace.