CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank (FCIB) is a financial services company based in Barbados and the Caribbean subsidiary of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). The bank was founded in 2002 as FirstCaribbean International Bank through the merger of the Caribbean operations of Barclays Bank and CIBC, and 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."
In March 2018 the bank announced that it had filed a Registration Statement on Form F-1 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") relating to the proposed initial public offering in the United States of FCIB's common shares.
All of the shares to be offered in the proposed initial public offering will be offered by a subsidiary of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce ("CIBC"). The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. FCIB intends to apply to list the common shares on the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") under the ticker symbol "FCI". FCIB's common shares are currently listed and currently trade on the Barbados Stock Exchange ("BSE") under the symbol FCI. FCIB intends to maintain a listing in Barbados on the International Securities Market of the BSE in addition to the proposed NYSE listing.
Video CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank
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 1836 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, 2006.
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.
Maps CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank
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]
FCIB is listed on the Barbados Stock Exchange; and was formerly listed on the, Jamaica Stock Exchange, Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange, Bahamas Securities Exchange, and Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchanges.
Largest competitors
- Barbados National Bank
- Citibank
- Maduro & Curiel's Bank
- National Commercial Bank of Jamaica
- Republic Bank - previously owned a stake in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (West Indies) Holdings Limited in 1994
- Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago - a subsidiary of Canadian competitor Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
- Scotiabank
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
Source of the article : Wikipedia