CIBC turns in a creditable performance

CONSOLIDATED net income of the CIBC West Indies Holdings for the nine months ended July 31, 2001 totalled Bds$94.8 million, a 15.0 per cent increase over the Bds$82.5 million result posted over the similar period in 2000. Over the same period assets increased by 21.7 per cent with the loan component increasing 10.6 per cent.

The Group achieved a return on equity of 21.9 per cent versus the 22.0 per cent result achieved over the comparable period in 2000. Earnings per share increased to 13. 5 Bds cents for the nine months ending July 31, 2001 compared to 13.0 Bds cents in the prior year.

Growth in net income versus the prior year has been largely driven by a Bds $9.6 million reduction in non-interest expenses and a Bds $5 million increase in amounts collected on bad debts.

Chairman Sir John Goddard said in his review that, "The Group's performance for the first three quarters has been in line with our expectations. We remain optimistic that despite signs of a slowdown in regional business activity, 2001 will be another successful year for the Group."

On July 23, Barclays and CIBC announced that they are in advanced discussions which are expected to lead to the combination of their Caribbean retail, corporate and offshore banking operations to create an important new force in financial services throughout the region. The Boards of Directors of Barclays and CIBC said they believe this combination will provide significant opportunities for revenue growth above that which could be achieved by either operation on a standalone basis, and would be expected to enhance earnings in 2002.

Implementation of the combination is subject to certain conditions including required regulatory approvals, and until such conditions are met and approvals are received, there will be no immediate change to current banking arrangements, the chairman said.

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