Further Integration Moves For First Caribbean Bank

Tax-News.com, New York

23 December 2002

Last Friday, FirstCaribbean International Bank announced that the Barclays Bank PLC banking operations in the British Virgin Islands and Grenada will be combined with FirstCaribbean effective Monday, December 23rd 2002.

"We are delighted to welcome our employees and customers in Grenada and the BVI into the FirstCaribbean family," said Michael Mansoor, Executive Chairman of FirstCaribbean. "Both Grenada and the BVI are critical territories for FirstCaribbean and their inclusion represents the conclusion of the combination of the CIBC and Barclays heritage banks in the region."

In the BVI, the announcement followed an agreement between the Bank and the majority of its employees in the BVI to join FirstCaribbean, as well as the receipt of approvals from the government and regulatory bodies of the BVI. The BVI business includes retail, corporate and international banking operating out of two branches, including an international banking centre.

In Grenada, the completion of the combination followed receipt of final approvals from the Government of Grenada. The Grenada business includes four branches offering retail and corporate banking services.

"Effective Monday, our customers and employees in Grenada and the BVI join thirteen other FirstCaribbean countries in a journey to integrate two banks and build FirstCaribbean," said Charles Pink, Chief Executive Officer of FirstCaribbean. "FirstCaribbean's integration journey will take approximately two years to complete, but will result in a truly special and distinctive financial services company in the Caribbean by integrating our people and ways of working."

FirstCaribbean says it offers a highly focused customer service approach in which customers receive specific sales and service support depending on their unique banking requirements. The four key lines of business which will deliver these tailored customer offers will be retail banking, corporate banking, international banking and capital markets. Additionally, over time, FirstCaribbean will focus on delivering a wider range of products through more banking channels, including telephone banking, and eventually Internet banking.

FirstCaribbean is one of the largest locally listed banks in the Caribbean based on market capitalization with some US$9 billion in assets, and over 700,000 accounts. FirstCaribbean operates in fifteen countries and 25 islands.

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