FIRSTCARIBBEAN International Bank Limited (FCIB) Announces $25 Million Capital Injection for Accelerated Growth in Jamaica

He even emphasised that the Jamaican corporate and investment banking segment was reported to have improved by six per cent while winning key deals in the market.

FCIB Jamaica is currently the sixth-largest Jamaican commercial bank, with FCIB Chief Financial Officer Carl Lewis noting that the bank is ready for the implementation of Basel III whenever the change takes effect by the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ). As such, the expected capital injection into the Jamaican bank will further strengthen its capital position and give it space to improve its lending capacity. FCIB Jamaica’s total capital ratio was 15.94 per cent at the end of October 2023, which would have been strengthened further by the transfers of $480.77 million into its statutory and retained earnings reserves in the first quarter.

According to the BOJ’s December 2023 statistics, FCIB Jamaica’s total assets hit $173.16 billion, with loans and advances at $94.47 billion. Total liabilities were $158.85 billion, with capital rising to $14.32 billion. This is compared to the $2.47 trillion in commercial banking assets built up of $1.25 trillion in loans, and $2.17 billion of total liabilities supported by about $1.7 trillion in total deposits.

FCIB has been working extensively on building out its digital capabilities across the region. Its digital loan store processed nearly 10,000 applications across the region, with about 70 per cent of its customers now banking online. This is complemented by initiatives like 1stPay which allows FCIB customers to use a QR code or email to send funds without the need for additional banking details.

“We had launched our remote cheque deposit product in The Bahamas, St Lucia, Antigua, St Kitts, and also in Cayman. The legislation we’re referring to, in terms of where we haven’t launched in other markets, refers to a legislation [that] allows for a full truncation and exchange of images between banks,” said FCIB Chief Information Officer Esan Peters on the mDeposit feature which processed 10,670 cheques in 2023.

FCIB’s stock price on the Trinidad & Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE) closed Friday at TT$7.05, which leaves the stock up 0.14 per cent in 2024 with a market capitalisation of TT$11.12 billion (J$253.58 billion). FCIB declared a dividend of US$0.0125, totalling US$19.71 million, to be paid on April 25 to shareholders on record as of March 27.

The Jamaican business rebranded on January 31 to CIBC, which reflects the wider group shift to align with the parent company. The resolution approving the name change of FCIB to CIBC Caribbean Bank Limited was approved on Friday, along with all other resolutions. The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) is the largest shareholder in FCIB, with it being a 91.67 per cent subsidiary.

“The countries that we’re not number one or number two [in], what we have been saying is that we have significant opportunity to grow the franchise — and these are not in markets that are US-denominated; we have a clear strategic focus of where we need to go. We are also saying that even in the core countries that we are in, our significant investment in modernising and simplifying the platform is also driving accelerated growth. We believe a combination of these factors will deliver continued growth,” St Hill closed.

SOURCE: Jamaica Observer