organisation.

Mr. Thomas Moss, who last month resigned as chairman of the Chamber's real estate division, said he was helping form a new association to provide the industry with leadership.

"We're just in the throes of forming another association,'' he said yesterday. "We don't want to be leaderless.'' In the meantime, the Chamber of Commerce has replaced Mr. Moss with his predecessor Mr. Buddy Rego.

Chamber president Mr. Louis Mowbray said Mr. Buddy Franklin and Chamber officer Ms Carolyn Mello were now working with the real estate division which has "had trouble arriving at policies''.

The industry's primary concern is the relationship of financial institutions with the industry, most notably the blockbuster merger of the Bank of Bermuda and L.P. Gutteridge's property divisions to form Bermuda Home, the biggest real estate and deposit company on the Island.

Mr. Mowbray said the Chamber's real estate division would be working on policies to clear up the relationships between real estate companies and lending institutions such as deposit companies as banks.

"There have been some concerns popping up in the last few months about the combination of these two things,'' he said. "The answer is to ensure that if a customer of a real estate agency seeks some financial assistance that they get equal treatment.'' The merger became the spark for the resignation of realtors from the Chamber, including the division's deputy chairman Mr. Ted Gauntlett.

Yesterday, Mr. Moss indicated his resignation had more to do with the difficulties of leading a real estate group within the umbrella of the Chamber.

The creation of Bermuda Home appeared to be the last straw.

He said the real estate division could not make a decision on the issue without it being vetted unnecessarily by the Chamber's executive.

"It was cumbersome,'' he said. "We'd like to speak for our own destiny without having to go to the Chamber executive.'' In addition, Mr. Moss spoke of Chamber communications on the Bermuda Home issue being conducted without reference to the real estate division. That prompted him to ask: "What am I here for?''