Management and staff of CIBC FirstCaribbean paused from financial matters last week to celebrate 'the team' that has helped the bank achieve several milestones, including a 10th successful year of operation (2012).

At a staff party hosted by the bank at the Wyndham Kingston Hotel, Managing Director Nigel Holness lauded the staff for their 'commitment to excellence' and presented top performers for 'Retail Branch Awards, 2011-2012'.

The King Street branch of CIBC FirstCaribbean won the award for 'Highest Deposit Growth', the award for 'Loan Growth' went to the Montego Bay branch. The Liguanea branch topped the field in surpassing their sales target for convenience products, including mobile banking, Internet banking, telephone banking, and credit cards.

CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank Savanna-la-Mar won the award for 'Customer Service Rating'.

CIBC FirstCaribbean is a member of the CIBC Group. CIBC (TSX, NYSE: CM) is a leading North American financial institution serving clients in Canada and around the world. Through three distinct business lines: retail and business banking, wealth management and wholesale banking, CIBC provides a full range of products and services to almost 11 million individual, small business and commercial banking clients, and meets the financial needs of corporate and institutional clients. CIBC is rated A+/Stable/A-1 by Standard & Poor's.

For more information about CIBC FirstCaribbean, visit www.cibcfcib.com.