Bahamas - FirstCaribbean International Bank

FIRSTCARIBBEAN INTERNATIONAL BANK (BAHAMAS) LIMITEDNotes to Consolidated Financial StatementsOctober 31, 2002(expressed in thousands of Bahamian dollars)1 General informationThe Bank, which was formerly named CIBC Bahamas Limited (“CIBC Bahamas”) and controlled byCanadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), changed its name to FirstCaribbean International Bank(Bahamas) Limited on October 11, 2002, following the combination of the retail, corporate andoffshore banking operations of Barclays Bank PLC in the Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands(“Barclays Bahamas”) and CIBC Bahamas.The Bank is a subsidiary of FirstCaribbean International Bank Limited, formerly CIBC West IndiesHoldings Limited (the “Parent”), a company incorporated in Barbados with the ultimate parentcompanies being jointly CIBC, a company incorporated in Canada, and Barclays Bank PLC, a companyincorporated in England.Under the combination, shares issued to Barclays Bank PLC for the Barclays Bahamas operations wereexchanged for shares in CIBC West Indies Holdings Limited which remained the legal parent companyof the Bank. Following the combination, Barclays Bank PLC and CIBC each own 45% of the votingshares of the Parent. Neither Barclays Bank PLC nor CIBC control the Parent, but InternationalAccounting Standards (IAS) requires that one of the combining entities be identified as the acquirer foraccounting purposes. The fair value of the Barclays’ business prior to the combination was greater thanthe fair value of CIBC’s business and, as a result, Barclays had the greater economic interest in theParent. Barclays was therefore identified as the acquirer. This situation is described by IAS as a reverseacquisition.Accordingly the financial statements of the Bank are presented as a continuation of the financialstatements of Barclays Bahamas and on the basis that Barclays Bahamas acquired CIBC Bahamas onOctober 11, 2002. The financial statements have been prepared as at October 31, 2002, the accountingreference date of CIBC Bahamas. The comparative amounts disclosed in the financial statements arethose of Barclays Bahamas as at and for the year ended December 31, 2001. The consolidated incomestatement includes the results of Barclays Bahamas for the period from January 1, 2002 to October 31,2002, together with results of the CIBC Bahamas subsequent to the combination. The consolidatedbalance sheet at October 31, 2002 reflects the assets and liabilities of Barclays Bahamas at book valueand the assets and liabilities of CIBC Bahamas based on their fair value at October 11, 2002 as adjustedto reflect movements in the period to October 31, 2002.Note 24 describes the accounting treatment applied to the acquisition.The registered office of the Bank is located at 308 East Bay Street, Nassau, The Bahamas. At October 31,2002 the Bank had 843 employees.53