A Blizzard and Communications

Continuing the story of establishing the Center for International Banking Studies (CIBS) leading to the upcoming publication of my new book, “A Lost Chapter in the Transformation of the Turkish Banking Industry.”

The project had substantial financial backing from the Banks Association of Türkiye and the support of its chairman, who at that time, was the Governor of the Central Bank of Türkiye.  Although, during two years, I worked with three different Governors.

The project also had a technical assistance allocation of $882,000 (over $2.4 million in today’s value) as part of a World Bank Financial Sector Adjust Loan to Türkiye for transforming the financial industry. The money was to be spent on teaching and office equipment plus teaching materials.

Much of CIBS’s power infrastructure required replacement and I was advised to invest in a back-up generator as electricity stoppage was a regular occurrence. I was grateful to have taken this advice when, in March 1987, Istanbul was hit with a blizzard called, the “Storm of the Century.” One meter of snow in parts of the city caused severe disruption, including widespread power outages.

During the storm our first 12-week Core Banking Program was underway at CIBS, even while renovation work was still underway. My team reported that electricity had gone off, but the generator kicked in, and all was well. The participants were warm, going to class, getting fed and all would be fine for a few days.

One piece of equipment I purchased personally was a Nokia Talkman mobile telephone. The reliability of landlines varied from day to day. Türkiye’s first mobile phone network was an analogue NMT network launched in 1986, the same year Finnish telecommunications provider, Nokia, started offering commercial mobile services in Türkiye. I took the briefcase -sized phone everywhere - my home, car, and office. It never failed when landlines were not working.

The story continues….