CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank (FCIB) (TTSE: FCI), (BSE: FCI) is a publicly held Caribbean financial services company based in Barbados. Formed in 2002 as a merge the Caribbean operations of Barclays Bank PLC and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), in March 2006 both CIBC and Barclays announced that Barclays wished to exercise their option to exit the Caribbean venture completely resulting in CIBC gaining majority-control of the bank. in June 2011 it was announced the bank would be renamed CIBC FirstCaribbean Bank "to be more closely aligned to the CIBC brand, while still maintaining the FirstCaribbean name and local identity."
History
Prior to 2002, the operations of what is now FirstCaribbean were run as the separate businesses of Barclays Bank and CIBC West Indies, part of CIBC's group of companies. Barclays had been active in the region since 1837 and CIBC's foray into the region began with branches in Jamaica in 1920.
- In March 2006, CIBC officials announced their intention of buying majority control of their publicly held Caribbean joint venture the FirstCaribbean International Bank. The deal costing just over US$1billion (Bds$2 billion) would purchase the current 43.7% owned by Barclays Bank PLC and would raise CIBC's current ownership to 87.4%, from 43.7%. Upon closure of the deal, the top four Caribbean commercial banks would be consolidated merely to a top three, with those being Scotiabank, the FirstCaribbean International Bank, and the Royal Bank of Canada with a possible distant fourth-place bank varying in each territory. Following the deal, the regional head-office for FCI is expected to remain located in Barbados, with that regional centre continuing to report to the Toronto CIBC head-office. [1], [2], (Final agreement for sale).
The deal closed on December 23, as expected near the end of 2006. is awaiting approval by several Caribbean regional regulators, as well as the securities exchanges in the Caribbean where majority ownership thresholds of 50% + 1 may have been crossed for the publicly held bank.
On March 13, 2006, CIBC and Barclays announced that they had signed a non-binding letter of intent enabling CIBC to acquire 43.7% of the shares of FCIB from Barclays. Upon completion of the transaction, CIBC's ownership was to increase to approximately 87.4% of FCIB.
CIBC announced on 22 December 2006 that it had purchased 599,401,230 shares of FirstCaribbean from Barclays for US$988,652,389 (representing US$1.62 per share plus accrued but unpaid dividends). Barclays also retained their option to tender all or a part of the remaining holdings of 66,600,137 shares. Thereafter, CIBC proceeded with a mandatory purchase offer to all remaining shareholders at US$1.62 per share and wound up holding 91.5% of First Caribbean International Bank.
FirstCaribbean is not the only Canadian controlled bank in the region: Scotiabank, and the Royal Bank of Canada also have extensive commercial banking businesses in the region and treat the region as a native market.
Since the CIBC acquisition, the results of FirstCaribbean have deteriorated significantly. The most recent annual results (2010) saw revenues, profitability, assets, and deposits down significantly. The 2010 net income of $157 million is almost $100 million lower than the 2007 results.
Locations
FirstCaribbean has branches in the following Caribbean countries:
Offshore
As well as providing financial services to residents of the Caribbean countries where it operates, FirstCaribbean is also a provider of offshore financial services to non-residents.
Membership
FirstCaribbean is a member of various Bankers Associations throughout the Caribbean region. Additionally FirstCaribbean also offers a co-branded University of the West Indies VISA-Classic, Gold or Platinum credit card for students, alumni and staff. FCIB is also a member of:
- MasterCard Worldwide
- VISA International
- Maestro ATM Network
- CarIFS ATM Network
- MultiLink Network ATM network [3]
Stock Exchange listings
FCIB is listed on the stock exchanges of Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Bahamas, as well as the Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange.
Largest competitors
- Barbados National Bank
- Citibank
- Maduro & Curiel's Bank
- National Commercial Bank of Jamaica
- Scotiabank
- RBTT
- Republic Bank of Trinidad and Tobago
- Royal Bank of Canada
References
External links
- Official website
- CIBC FirstCaribbean on Facebook
News and articles
- FirstCaribbean continues to work with regional unions - June 15, 2007: Barbados Advocate
- FirstCaribbean's finally share tally: CIBC 92%, other shareholders 8% - May 10, 2007: The Broad Street Journal online
- FirstCaribbean to invest US$9m in new Barbados Bank Business Centre - July 4, 2006: Barbados Advocate
- CIBC takes control - March 20, 2006: Trinidad and Tobago Express
- 'Excellent year' for First Caribbean - December 23, 2005: Jamaica Observer daily news
- ABN AMRO's banking operations in Curaçao to join with FirstCaribbean International Bank - November 24, 2005: Caribbean Net News
- FirstCaribbean exceeds US$4 billion loan mark - Thursday, April 28, 2005: Caribbean Net News
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