In a bid to calm employee concerns following the announcement that the Bank of Bermuda could be sold to multinational HSBC, senior executives have hosted a round of staff meetings in Bermuda and will criss-cross the globe during the next two months to meet with all staff.

In total the bank has 3,000 global staff, with about 1,200 of those posts being in Bermuda. International trips being taken by CEO Henry Smith, COO Philip Butterfield, head of Global Fund Services Paul Smith and head of private client services Wayne Chapman follow two meetings with Bermuda staff last Wednesday which saw Mr. Smith and Mr. Butterfield address colleagues? concerns about the pricing of the proposed deal for $1.3 billion, or $45 per share.

Management has also sought to have ?constructive? conversations with staff following news that the transaction could mean job cuts ? up to 250 in Bermuda alone. In the deal, which remains subject to regulatory and shareholder approval, HSBC takes over the bank?s operations in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, New York, Bahrain, Dublin, Geneva, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, London, Luxembourg, Cook Islands, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and South Africa.

Speaking to last week, Mr. Butterfield said of the Bermuda meetings: ?I was personally quite taken with the openness that our colleagues posed questions. I tried to understand body language to see where people were say, unsettled around the news. We did recognise that this was a very emotive issue ? hearing the company for whom they have worked a number of years is being sold.?

But Mr. Butterfield said the rapport at the two meetings was ?very, very positive?.

Mr. Butterfield said the majority of the questions from staff had centred on the $45 sum being paid out per share in the purchase ? $40 from HSBC and a $5 special dividend payment from the bank ? and job security.

?Essentially people want to manage expectations,? Mr. Butterfield said. ?The discussions were constructive, and consistent with the expectations that Henry and I had going in.?

When asked if there had been anger expressed by bank staff at either of the two meetings, Mr. Butterfield said: ?No, not at all. I attribute that to the managerial style that has been the hallmark of the bank. That is openness from Henry and I. We spend time together conducting what we call ?walkabouts?. Traditionally, several times a year, we have gone to different locations and departments to have open discussions with staff. We have breakfast meetings, afternoon tea meetings with groups of 20 odd people at all levels of the organisation.

?That has given people a voice, the opportunity to pose questions to us and we take the view that if we can?t answer them, something is wrong. But they know that if they have a question they can go to the very top of the organisation to secure a response. I believe that has given us credibility.?

Mr. Butterfield said staff were first notified of the sale in a 9.25 a.m. email on Tuesday that was sent out simultaneously to all offices and in tandem with a Press release to the public. Telling all parties at the same time is in keeping with fair disclosure requirements that must be met by the bank as a public company, trading on the Nasdaq.

?That was important because we were able to ensure a consistent message to the 3,000 people with which we work. Outside of Bermuda, the managing director in each jurisdiction meet with his staff so that we were able to ensure the same message across the group.?