Caye International Bank's SVP Luigi Wewege Speaks on Thriving as a Business and as a Leader in Uncertain Times Both Caye International Bank and its Senior Vice President, Head of Private Banking Luigi Wewege have been in the news recently for their various strides, both on the corporate and the individual level. Caye International Bank has been named Pan Finance's Private Bank of the Year – LATAM 2021, while Luigi was awarded the Private Banker of the Year – LATAM 2021. Seeing that the “cost of excellence” has been heightened by an uncertain and pandemic-ridden global economy, it is laudable to see some financial institutions and executives standing their ground to navigate expertly through the storm, to build adaptive systems that grow through the challenges and to gain the acclaim that both Caye and Luigi have. We caught up with Luigi Wewege to discuss some of the intricacies of thriving as a financial institution in a COVID era, what it means to be at the helm of affairs in such uncertain times, and much more.

1. BANKING & INVESTMENT
PAN Finance Magazine Q4 2021
Caye International Bank’s SVP
Luigi Wewege Speaks on Thriving
as a Business and as a Leader in
Uncertain Times
B
oth Caye International Bank and
its Senior Vice President, Head
of Private Banking Luigi Wewege
have been in the news recently
for their various strides, both on
the corporate and the individual level. Caye
International Bank has been named Pan Fi-
nance’s Private Bank of the Year – LATAM
2021, while Luigi was awarded the Private
Banker of the Year – LATAM 2021.
Seeing that the “cost of excellence” has been
heightened by an uncertain and pandem-
ic-ridden global economy, it is laudable to
see some financial institutions and executives
standing their ground to navigate expertly
through the storm, to build adaptive systems
that grow through the challenges and to gain
the acclaim that both Caye and Luigi have. We
caught up with Luigi Wewege to discuss some
of the intricacies of thriving as a financial in-
stitution in a COVID era, what it means to be
at the helm of affairs in such uncertain times,
and much more.
Q: WHAT CAN YOU TELL US BRIEFLY
ABOUT YOURSELF?
I form part of the Executive Management
of Caye International Bank, headquartered
on Ambergris Caye island in Belize, Central
America. Outside of the bank, I serve as an
Instructor at the FinTech School in California,
which provides online training courses on the
latest technology and innovation develop-
ments within the financial services industry. I
am also the published author of The Digital
Banking Revolution, which is available in au-
dio, Kindle, and paperback formats through-
out all major international online bookstores
and is now in its third edition. Previously, I
helped complete a pilot study for the Feder-
al Trade Commission during one of the most
serious financial times for the American econ-
omy. The primary focus of the study was to
examine and determine the accuracy of credit
bureau information.
Q: GIVE US THE BACKGROUND STORY
TO CAYE INTERNATIONAL BANK, HOW
DID THIS JOURNEY INTO BEING AN
INTERNATIONAL BANK BEGIN?
Caye’s history began in 1996 as a Belizean
mortgage company, and after continued suc-
cess over several years the decision was tak-
en to become an international bank. This was
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2. www.panfirnance.net
granted on September the 29th, 2003 when
Caye received an unrestricted Class A - In-
ternational Banking License from the Central
Bank of Belize. The Central Bank of Belize is
responsible for regulating Caye International
Bank and setting the standards for its liquidity
and capital adequacy ratios.
Q: WHEN WE SPEAK OF YOUR
LOCATIONAL POSITIONING, IT WOULD
SEEM AS THOUGH CAYE INTERNATIONAL
BANK HAS SPRUNG UP FROM THE MOST
UNLIKELY PLACE TO BECOME A NOTABLE
REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL
CONTENDER, WHAT CAN YOU TELL US
ABOUT THAT?
Caye is not just the only International Bank
headquartered on the beautiful island of Am-
bergris Caye in Belize but now the only fully
focused international bank in the country. Our
bank license permits us to conduct financial
services with both individuals and corpora-
tions located outside of Belize. The bank of-
fers a full range of traditional and non-tradi-
tional banking services as well as accounts in
multiple currencies, helping people not only
with asset protection but asset diversification.
Q: HOW HAS THE BANK AND BUSINESS
MANAGED TO THRIVE THROUGH A
PANDEMIC?
Our bank’s clients, regardless of whether they
are from the USA, Europe, Panama, New Zea-
land, or the Middle East, are all facing similar
concerns during COVID-19. But the main dif-
ferentiator in how they have responded is the
size of their portfolio. A small diversification
client may need a big chunk of their cash right
now, whereas a larger investor may simply be
switching asset classes or making speculative
moves. At Caye, we are fortunate that our
liquidity ratios far exceed minimum require-
ments, and we can weather this storm as we
did with the prior financial crisis around 2008.
Q: MANY LEADERS AND FIRMS HAVE
HAD TO MAKE SOME HARD DECISIONS
TO SURVIVE THE PANDEMIC, HOW DID
YOU HANDLE THIS?
We decided from the very beginning of the
pandemic that we did not want any dismiss-
als or salary cutting. Thus, if we were to get
through this current crisis, then we would do
it together as a team. We understood that it
would be backbreaking work to change a
nearly two-decade-old bank working from a
central command point to completely digital,
i.e., online and staff working from home in just
a few days. What we learnt is that potential-
ly insurmountable changes that we thought
would take years could, in fact, be achieved
in a fraction of the time when receiving buy-in
from all stakeholders of the bank.
Q: YOU HAVE AN EXTENSIVE TRACK
RECORD AS A LEADER IN THE FINANCIAL
SERVICES INDUSTRY. CAN YOU TIE THIS
UP BY TELLING US WHAT THE FINANCIAL
SECTOR NEEDS FROM ITS SENIOR
MANAGERS IN AN ENVIRONMENT LIKE
WE SEE TODAY?
There are two ways of dealing with rapid
change. One way is through reactive protec-
tionism. This is often through trying to stop the
bleeding when change is forced upon you.
This can be done by tweaking costs here and
there, to still be in the black for each quar-
terly budget. The other method is a nimbler,
more proactive approach. Knowing that most
changes are not short-term and recognising
that the first inkling of any change is a signal
of potential opportunity.
Leaders who can develop an adaptive vision
and implement responsive systems to meet
clients’ new needs are the ones who will be
the most successful. Often the big break-
through successes come from leveraging
disruptive change. It’s important to note that
getting to this point also requires helping em-
ployees develop skills to deal with this rapid
change and as always, communicating “what”
and “why” is critical to success.
For more information about Caye Internation-
al Bank and Luigi Wewege – please visit:
www.cayebank.bz
www.luigiwewege.com
Luigi Wewege
SVP & Head of Private Banking
Caye International Bank
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