Valentino I. McBean, senior vice-president and regional manager at Banco Popular, died Wednesday morning at Roy L. Schneider Hospital after a long illness.
"He had a bark, but never a bite," Bonnie Moron said.
Moron served as McBean’s secretary for nine years.
According to Moron, McBean was an understanding person who always told her if she was sick, to take care of herself before work.
"And he was an awesome banker," she said.
Oran Bowry, Banco Popular’s vice-president of operations, called McBean a compassionate leader.
"He was the type of supervisor who never forgot to ask about your family and told you thank you each and every day," Bowry said.
Judith Rogers, a Banco Popular vice-president, worked with McBean since the 1970s when both were at V.I. National Bank.
"He was a true banker who knew and loved his profession," Rogers said.
She said she’d often pass by the Banco Popular building at night and see McBean hard at work in his office.
McBean brought out the best in his employees, Rogers said.
"A lot of us are where we are today because he trained us," she said.
St. Thomas Attorney Tom Bolt spoke about McBean’s contributions to the territory’s banking industry.
"He was a force in banking and financial services," he said.
McBean worked on revisions to the territory’s banking code and helped make banks cognizant of the fact they needed to serve the community, Bolt said.
Born in Frederiksted, St. Croix, McBean started his banking career in 1964 as a loan interviewer at V.I. National Bank. He stayed with the bank, moving up the leadership ladder, as it changed its name to First Pennsylvania Bank. He joined Banco Popular in 1988 when it was only a retail branch on the St. Thomas waterfront. Bowry said that McBean was responsible for developing the bank from $1 million in assets in the Virgin Islands to its current $1.2 billion.
At Banco Popular, he was responsible for Banco Popular’s growth in the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.
His achievements include financing of V.I. Port Authority Marine Revenue Bonds, the territorial government’s Y2K Compliance, the V.I. Water and Power Authority’s five-year expansion project, Yacht Haven Marina reconstruction and mega yacht facilities, various bond issues, and projects for Lockhart Realty, Lockhart Inc., Sunny Isle Shopping Center, Miller Properties, and Atlantic Tele-Network Inc.
As the news of McBean’s death circulated around the territory, condolences began to arrive.
Sen. Shawn Michael-Malone recalled McBean’s drive, energy and persistent leadership in promoting growth and economic opportunity throughout the territory.
"Many residential homes, business developments and public projects became reality due to the dedication and determination of Valentino McBean to bend over backwards to provide opportunity for Virgin Islanders in order to build a better and more progressive future for the territory," Malone said.
McBean attended St. Patrick’s School in Frederiksted and Catholic University in Puerto Rico.
He is survived by his wife, children and grandchildren.
Funeral arrangements are pending.