CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank is a financial services company based in Barbados and the Caribbeansubsidiary of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. 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." The majority of the bank's revenues are generated by its operations in Barbados, the Bahamas and the Cayman Islands.
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 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. The deal closed on December 23, 2006.
CIBC shares acquisition
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. 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.
Cancelled plans for United States IPO
In March 2018, CIBC announced that it had filed a Registration Statement on Form F-1 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed initial public offering in the United States of CIBC FirstCaribbean's common shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Through the IPO, CIBC would divest itself of most of its 91.5% stake in FCIB to refocus capital and management resources on its other North American operations. Due to a lack of interest in the American markets for FCIB's share, the application for an IPO was withdrawn by the company on April 19, 2018.
Locations
FirstCaribbean has branches in the following Caribbean countries and territories:
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:
