Bermudians need to work hard and use their wages to build up wealth rather than seek a "quick buck" on the stock market, Bank of Bermuda president Henry Smith has warned.

He said many Bermudians were "blinded by greed" in the 1980's and 1990's and some even invested in either fraudulent Nigerian scams or on companies that didn't make a cent but promised fantastic returns.

He was speaking alongside former Premier Sir John Swan and entrepreneur Rodney Smith at a meeting on wealth creation at Centennial Hall, Hamilton, on Tuesday organised by MP Dale Butler's Writers' Machine.

"We will continue to see interest rates depressed and stock markets around the world are a very hard environment to earn a return," said the bank boss.

"We must tone down our expectations of returns. Whether we like it or not, we are going to have to work hard to make a decent living.

"It will be harder than in the last decade and if we expect to make a quick buck, that is not going to be the case.

"We are not going to make money off the stock markets or savings rates. We are going to make money the way we always made money and seem to have forgotten, and it is from our jobs.

"We have got to make the point loud and clear that what is important today, and I think will be important in the next few years to come, is your job, how well you do it and what you do with the money you make from the job."

It was important to network, and use the advice of professionals on the Island to build up wealth.

He recognised there was "a history of distrust" of the bank, which it was working hard to overcome.

He said even if customers thought the bank wasn't working hard enough to overcome this, it was regulated by Bermuda Monetary Authority and members of the public could make a complaint.

Businessman and former Progressive Labour Party candidate Rodney Smith said giving was the secret to wealth building.

"If you incorporate giving into your wealth management, you will out how things come together," he said.

He added that if Bermudians couldn't make enough money working five days, they should work six.

He said many Bermudians spent their money so carelessly, it was like putting it in a bag with a big hole at the bottom.

Mr. Smith asked for eight volunteers to come forward and each then received an envelope containing money ranging from $1 to $100.

He also produced a `money tree' - a little plant with dollar bills attached to it. When he asked if anyone wanted packets of seeds, another group came forward and inside the packets were dollar bills ranging again from $1 to $100.

People who are afraid cannot make money, and those who had the courage to come forward and were rewarded proved that, he said.

Sir John said there were four types of people - dreamers, planners, doers, and healers. His new condominium block in Hamilton sprang from a dream he had at 2.21 a.m. one morning to reality after much persistence.

"We all have our dreams, but we have to plan what to do with those dreams. We all have the capacity, but you have to get into the habit of being successful," said the self-made millionaire.

He repeated his call for the empty Club Med in St. George's to be converted into a home for difficult adolescents.

The key to getting these young men back on track was to find them jobs, and he called for a serious commitment to regenerate Hamilton.

Blue collar jobs were diminishing and young Bermudians were not going to buy big hotels, so they could find work bringing Hamilton back to life as place to live and feel they have a future in the Island.