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Darragh Lee, Butterfield’s head of retail banking and credit cards, tells Emily Moore why the organisation is trying to address what it sees as a ‘lack of service in old-school personal banking’
DARRAGH Lee may have worked for the same company for the past 25 years but his career has been anything but static.
Now heading up Butterfield’s ever-expanding range of banking services for local residents, Darragh sees his role as head of retail banking and credit cards as his most exciting.
Darragh has held a number of roles within the business since joining as a
trainee shortly after leaving university.
“I started in the asset management department, where I spent about 15 years,” said the Irishman, who moved to Guernsey with his family when he was a child.
During his time in that team, Darragh worked closely with Richard Saunders, who has since gone on to become the group’s managing director for the Channel Islands and UK.
“When Richard became managing director, I transferred out of investment management to help establish the bank’s middle office. This involved improving management information, setting up dedicated client onboarding teams in Guernsey and Halifax in Canada and leading a large-scale client remediation exercise business,” said Darragh.
It was a role which quickly grew, with Darragh working very closely with the chief operations officer and being appointed head of operations before becoming “heavily involved” with Butterfield in Jersey.
In Guernsey, Darragh continued his career progression, returning to the department he had first joined as a trainee. But this time his position was very different.
“I took on the role of head of asset management, where the focus was very much on recalibrating the team and developing the business’s strategy,” he explained.
But while leading the asset management team, Darragh became interested in a new product which the group was preparing to launch.
“At that point, the bank was working on the development of a credit card offer for the Jersey and Guernsey market, and I could see that this was going to be the next exciting thing for Butterfield, so I asked whether I could be part of that project,” he explained.
Crediting Butterfield for having a “culture which encourages people’s development”, Darragh explains that his initial request to be involved with the development of the credit card offering led to him “owning the product’s delivery into the marketplace”.
“Butterfield has always given me good opportunities to progress my career and to learn from high-calibre individuals at both the local and group level,” he reflected. “And that says a lot about the group’s culture, something which has really stood out for me in the past ten years since Richard has led the Channel Island business.
“His philosophy is very much that people come first, and that really comes across throughout the business, and is something which I try to follow and encourage my teams to do the same. While work is the foundation that supports our lives, our emphasis is very much on family first.”
The culture also, he says, recognises the importance of retaining talented people.
“As well as supporting people to obtain qualifications to further their professional development, the group gives people opportunities to transfer to different areas where they can add value and grow their skillset,” he said. “A great example of this was my desire to own credit cards, which I was allowed to do, but there is a lot of transferability in the office, with people moving to departments where they see opportunities. We would much rather support those internal moves and keep good people in the business than see them move elsewhere.”
Having overseen the launch of Butterfield’s credit cards, Darragh’s role expanded again to cover the business’s full local banking offer.
“We now offer a comprehensive local product suite, which we are planning to expand further,” he said. “In Cayman and Bermuda, where the group is headquartered, we offer a full community bank service.
“While we haven’t quite replicated that in the Channel Islands, the long-term strategy is to move in that direction. The first step towards that was the launch of local mortgages for the retail market. That has proved very successful and was quickly followed by the launch of our credit cards, a product we developed as we recognised that a lot of people were struggling to obtain cards from the traditional providers.”
Having launched the credit cards in February 2024, Darragh says that initial demand was high.
“We knew that there was a gap in the market, caused largely by the fact that unless you have lived or worked in the UK, many Channel Island residents are not listed on credit reference agencies, which is one of the main data points used by card issuers,” he explained. “Since launching this offer last year, we have issued around 4,500 cards across Jersey and Guernsey.”
And this is just one example, adds Darragh, of Butterfield helping the local market.
“As a local bank, we know the Island and we are committed to helping people find solutions,” he said, pointing to the group’s Island Saver account, which he said responded to another gap in the market.
“We think that Islanders are underserviced when it comes to old-school personal banking,” he said. “Because we know the islands, and our teams are based here, if you speak to someone on the phone, that is likely to be the same person who will email you and may well be the same person who you meet if you choose to come into our new office at the International Finance Centre.”
As well as prioritising high levels of customer service, Darragh says that Butterfield is committed to playing a strong role in the community, something which he says is appreciated by customers.
“Initiatives such as the recent ArtHouse Jersey Bubbletecture art installation are very well received both by our customers and the wider community,” he said, “and underpin our commitment to offering not just a banking service but to being part of the islands’ journey to success.”
As part of that goal, he adds, the bank is committed to finding out what customers – both retail and business – need from Butterfield.
“We are always talking to customers and industry groups and carrying out surveys to understand where the gaps are and how we might be able to fill them,” he said. “As we move towards that goal of full-service provision, our next lines will therefore be based on that feedback, while also supporting the group’s ambition for growth.
“We believe there is a real opportunity to increase our market share, particularly in Jersey.
“In fact, it is my goal to drive the retail side of the business, so that within the next five years, our Jersey book is bigger than Guernsey’s, and we are consistently delivering the products and services that the community wants. That is the ambition that we are living and breathing.”
- Credit cards are only available to over 18s and residents of the Channel Islands. Credit cards will be issued from Butterfield Bank (Channel Islands) Limited.
Butterfield Bank (Channel Islands) Limited (“BBCIL”) acting through its Jersey branch (Butterfield Bank (Channel Islands) Limited, Jersey Branch) under the registered business name ‘Butterfield Bank Jersey’ (“Butterfield Bank Jersey”) is regulated by the Jersey Financial Services Commission to conduct deposit-taking business under the Banking Business (Jersey) Law 1991 (as amended), and investment business, fund service business and money service business pursuant to the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998 (as amended). Butterfield Bank Jersey is registered under the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018 (as amended) and its business name is registered with the Jersey Registrar of Companies (with registration number 35466) under the Registration of Business Names (Jersey) Law 1956 (as amended).Butterfield Bank Jersey’s registered office address and principal place of business is at IFC6, IFC Jersey, St Helier, Jersey JE2 3BZ. Butterfield Bank Jersey is a participant in the Jersey Bank Depositors Compensation Scheme. The Scheme offers protection for eligible deposits of up to £50,000. The maximum total amount of compensation is capped at £100,000,000 in any 5 year period. Full details of the Scheme and banking groups covered are available on the Government of Jersey website www.gov.je/dcs, or on request.
BBCIL is licensed and regulated by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission under The Banking Supervision (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020, The Protection of Investors (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020, and The Lending, Credit and Finance (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2022, each as amended from time to time, under registration number 85. BBCIL is registered with the Guernsey Registry under registration number 21061. BBCIL’s registered office address is P.O. Box 25, Martello Court, Admiral Park, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 3AP. BBCIL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited. Terms and Conditions can be obtained from our website and copies of the latest audited accounts are available on request.
