Kim Norris, a former federal bureaucrat who specialized in helping developing countries establish standards to regulate and supervise their banks, was among the 153 passengers and crew killed when an airliner crashed Sunday in the Nigerian city of Lagos.

Norris was on a consulting assignment with the International Monetary Fund as a technical adviser to the Central Bank of Nigeria. He took on the job after retiring in 2008 from the federal Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.

Norris, who had a background in banking, joined OSFI in 1984. He worked in a variety of senior positions during his 24 years with the agency, which is the primary regulator and supervisor of federally regulated deposit-taking institutions, insurance companies, and private pension plans.

At one point, Norris was responsible for supervising the operations of foreign banks with branches in Canada. In his last position before his retirement he was managing director of OSFI’s International Advisory Group, charged with assisting developing and emerging market economies to improve their regulatory and supervising systems in line with international banking and insurance standards.

The group, which is largely funded by the Canadian International Development Agency, carries out needs assessments and provides hands-on technical advice, training, workshops and seminars, primarily to supervisors in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean.

Much of Norris’s was conducted overseas, including in African and the Caribbean. “He was on an airplane all of the time,” said OSFI spokesman Rod Gilles.

Colleagues describe Norris as “extremely knowledgeable” in his area of expertise, with considerable experience on the international scene.

“He knew a lot of people here,” said Gilles. “They have fond memories of him. He was very personable and very professional.”

IMF officials echoed that regard. Agency spokesman Alistair Thomson explained that the IMF hired Norris because of his “specialist knowledge,” sending him to places like Nigeria as part of his five-year contract.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria was very appreciative of his work,” Thomson said.

IMF managing director Christine Lagarde offered the agency’s condolences in a brief message to Norris’s former OSFI colleagues. “Our thoughts are with his family, particularly his wife and two children.”



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