BASSETERRE St. Kitts – THE FIRSTCARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL BANK is announcing today (June 20), that it is being co-branded under the banner of the Canada Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). The new name will be CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank.
The Bank will gradually transition into its new identity over the coming months as the CIBC FirstCaribbean brand is introduced to operations across the Caribbean region. Over this period of time the red and gold of the CIBC brand will be phased-in as branch signage, employee uniforms, and marketing materials are updated.
Executive Chairman of CIBC FirstCaribbean, Michael Mansoor explained the reason for such a change.
He said, “By joining together the strong branding identities of both CIBC and FirstCaribbean, CIBC FirstCaribbean represents the proud heritage and uniqueness of the Caribbean backed by the financial strength of CIBC, one of the largest and best capitalised banks in Canada.”
“CIBC is one of the leading banks in Canada and Canada’s banking system has been ranked as the best in the world by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum for the last three years, and in May, the Bloomberg Markets magazine named CIBC the fourth strongest bank in the world, so linking the FirstCaribbean brand with CIBC will leverage this financial strength and world class recognition,” he continued.
Strengthening Mansoor’s statements, the bank’s CEO John Orr said, “The addition of CIBC to the FirstCaribbean brand emphasizes CIBC’s long-term commitment to the Caribbean region, our employees and our clients. Our clients and our employees across the Caribbean will continue to benefit from the long-term investment that CIBC is making in the region that dates back to our first branches opened in 1920.”
CIBC FirstCaribbean will continue to operate as a Caribbean-managed business within the CIBC group of companies, and will continue to be traded on the stock exchanges of Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica, The Bahamas and the Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange.
On June 1, 1961, the Canadian Bank of Commerce (established 1867) and the Imperial Bank of Canada (established 1875) merged to form the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). CIBC is a North American financial institution serving clients in Canada and around the world. CIBC provides a full range of products and services to many individuals, small business and commercial banking clients and meets the financial needs of corporate and institutional clients.
FirstCaribbean was formed in 2002 with the merger of CIBC West Indies Holdings and Barclays Bank PLC Caribbean operations. In December 2006, CIBC acquired Barclays stake and became the majority shareholder in FirstCaribbean. CIBC FirstCaribbean is a member of the CIBC Group.
