FirstCaribbean International Wins 'Best Bank' Award

by Carla Johnson, Investors Offshore.com

04 September 2006

FirstCaribbean International Bank has been awarded the coveted Best Bank Award of Excellence by leading financial industry publication Euromoney.

According to Barbados-based FirstCaribbean, it is the first time in the magazine's 37-year history that the award has been conferred upon a pan-Caribbean bank.

Soledad Contreras, senior manager, Euromoney Magazine UK, explained that the bank's 35% earnings growth in the first quarter, combined with its asset base of $9.6 billion and a year-on-year growth rate of 300% had impressed the magazine's analysts.

"At Euromoney, we believe that finance is the world's most competitive business, so it takes something special to stand out from the crowd. The award was very well deserved," she noted.

The bank's recent acquisition of ABN Amro's offshore and wealth management business in Curacao would further bolster its standing as a regional leader in the international wealth management market, Contreras added.

FirstCaribbean's international banking director for Barbados, Mark St. Hill, said that the award was an honour for the bank.

"We're constantly looking at new ways to innovate and to give our clients - both regional and international - the services that best meet their needs," he said.

"Whether it is providing day-to-day banking services to our existing customers or providing financing to international buyers seeking to invest in the Caribbean market, our aim is to offer each customer the best and most efficient service from the beginning of their transaction to its completion," St. Hill added.

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