Bermuda's economy is set to boom following Hurricane Fabian according to a leading banker at Bank of Bermuda.

Michael Collins, head of banking services at Bermuda's biggest bank, said that the damages caused by the storm will lead to a mini-boom which will spread past the construction industry and into the community at large.

Speaking yesterday at the Hawksmere 17th International Reinsurance Congress, Mr. Collins said: "When Hurricane Emily happened we had a mini economic boom and we think this time it will happen again."

When asked later what he meant, he went on to say that the boom in the construction industry following the damage to houses and businesses would trickle through the economy and cause a boom.

He said part of the evidence for this was the scheme, formulated by the Island's banks and Government to give out emergency loans following the storm, had not been taken up in the same way they had thought.

"We set it up as a backstop in order for people to get their roofs fixed before the insurance companies paid out. We have had some business, but the demand has not been as high as we thought. There have been large numbers but for small amounts.

"After Emily there was a boom in the construction industry and a lot of that was fuelled by the insurance pay-outs."

He added that residents had also taken the opportunity to get additional work done on their house while construction was going on such as renovating kitchens and fixing other parts of the house while the house was already in a mess following the repairs.

"People get the insurance money, get things fixed and then decide to build a kitchen at the same time," said Mr. Collins. "And then there is a mini-economic boom in the construction industry - have you tried to get hold of a builder at the moment? - and this filters through the economy."

He added that the fact that there had not been a huge demand for the loan facility meant that people were not as stretched by the storm as first feared.

Mr. Collins was yesterday giving a wide-ranging lunch time speech to delegates at the three-day Hawksmere conference.

He opened with a slide show of the effects of Hurricane Fabian and the way it had impacted Bermuda, closed the Causeway, caused loss of life and damage to homes, offices and caused a huge loss of mature trees.

He also took the audience of mainly foreign accountants, lawyers and brokers who deal in insurance and reinsurance, through the growth of Bermuda's insurance industry.

"Every time there is a capacity shortfall, it is filled more and more quickly," he said. Mr. Collins added that he could not think of a single company failure caused out of the three main events to cause an industry boom in Bermuda - the excess liability crunch, Hurricane Andrew or September 11.

"With each successive event we become more and more effective," he added.

Mr. Collins also gave a summary of the problems caused by corporate inversions, an overview of the economy in general and the bank's role in both the international business sector and locally.

The event continues today with the final sessions on directors and officers liabilities and includes the major issues and the effect of Sarbanes Oxley.