Central Bank Governor Jwala Rambarran has described the sudden passing of financial services ombudsman Suzanne Roach as one of the saddest days in the bank.
Roach died at the St Clair Medical Centre on Monday evening shortly after returning to T&T from the United States. She collapsed after complaining about respiratory problems and was rushed to the private hospital where she died.
A brief statement from the Central Bank late Tuesday said: "Our Suzanne died while receiving treatment at St. Clair Medical Centre last evening.
"Today was a difficult day for many of us at the Bank, especially those who worked closely with her, as she was the type colleague who we all want to work with, always smiling, always compassionate and always positive.
Roach, 59, who reported directly to Governor Rambarran, was a chartered accountant with more than 33 years experience in the financial sector. She was appointed financial services ombudsman on May 1, 2010.
She began her career at the Central Bank on September 1, 1982 and worked in the Internal Audit function for 15 years, serving as manager–internal audit for 12 years. Roach worked in the Financial Institutions Supervision Department for seven years and participated in the suspension and closure of BCCI, Workers Bank (1989) Ltd and five non-banking financial institutions.
She also worked in banking operations, including Foreign Exchange and Domestic Investments Department where she had responsibility for government securities in addition to the accounting for Central Bank and Government income and expenditure.
Roach served in various executive capacities in professional associations, including the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA), T&T Chapter; M Sc Accounting (UWI) Association of T&T; and the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), T&T Chapter, where she served as president from 2007 – 2009 and was a governor of the Board of Governors.
Under her stewardship the chapter received the Gold Chapter Award for 2007-2008 and 2008-2009.
She was also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of T&T (ICATT) and served as an examiner with the Institute of Banking and Finance since 2000 and received an award on June 28, 2014 for "substantial contribution" to the advancement of the Institute of Banking and Finance of T&T.
Roach, a graduate of the University of the West Indies, St Augustine, had a Masters in Accounting and a Bachelor of Science in Management Studies. She was the third person to hold the position of financial ombudsman in T&T and had been spearheading a range of outreach initiatives to educate citizens who transact business with commercial banks and insurance companies about their rights and responsibilities as well as the services they can access from her office.
Nicole Crooks, senior manager, Human Resources and Knowledge Management, will assume responsibility for the operations of the Office of the Financial Services Ombudsman until the formal appointment of a new financial services ombudsman.