FirstCaribbean International Bank Limited has announced today, that the sale of its
assets of FirstCaribbean International Bank (Barbados) Limited in St. Kitts, to St.
Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank Limited (SKNANB) will no longer proceed.
The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (‘ECCB’) provided conditional approval for
the sale of the assets and banking business of FirstCaribbean International Bank
(Barbados) Limited (‘FCIB Barbados’) in St. Kitts, to the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla
National Bank Limited (‘SKNANB’) on July 15, 2022, subject to certain
conditions.
SKNANB recently informed FCIB Barbados that it has not secured final approval
from the ECCB to conclude the acquisition. The ECCB subsequently notified
FCIB Barbados of its decision to not grant final approval for the sale of its
operations in St. Kitts.
Notwithstanding the denial of approval outlined above, the ECCB remains fully
engaged with FCIB Barbados as it continues to assess its operational footprint in
the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union. This means that FirstCaribbean
International Bank (Barbados) Limited will retain its presence in St. Kitts and has
announced plans to transform the way it does business there.
Chief Executive Officer of CIBC FirstCaribbean, Mark St. Hill, noted that while
the ending of the sale process is disappointing for the bank, CIBC FirstCaribbean
will take advantage of this opportunity to refine its business in St. Kitts. He added:
“We are an agile organisation and it is our duty on behalf of our employees and
clients to ensure that we deliver a steady ship that provides omni-channel access to
banking services in St. Kitts. We are prepared to pivot and look toward growing
our business in St. Kitts, into the future.”
Managing Director for the bank in Barbados and the OECS countries, Donna
Wellington, noted that the bank will take this opportunity to transform its business
in St. Kitts. “Our priority is to signal to the market that we are staying and open for
business. We have been conservative in the St. Kitts market over the past year-and-
a-half as we prepared the business for sale. However, we will now concentrate our
effort on building the business, reconnecting with both our Retail and Corporate
clients in a big way and providing them with the best products and services CIBC
FirstCaribbean has to offer.”
Ms. Wellington went on to thank both staff and clients for their commitment to the
bank. “Our employees are a huge asset to the business, and we owe them a huge
debt of gratitude for the grace and professionalism they have exhibited over the
past several months. As for our clients, we have already spoken to some of them
and they have assured us of their continuing support for us, so it is full steam
ahead.”
Ms. Wellington noted that the bank plans to eventually transform its branch and
network in Basseterre to be able to provide access to both in person and digital
banking services to St. Kitts, with the installation of Smart ABMs, and other self-
serve products that will allow customers to choose how and where they bank with
CIBC FirstCaribbean.
