CIBC First Caribbean says goodbye to SVG

By Admin. Updated 7:14 p.m., Wednesday, March 22, 2023, Atlantic Standard Time (GMT-4).

The main signs at the entrance of the lone CIBC First Caribbean CIBC First Caribbean International Bank branch at Halifax Street, Kingstown were removed this afternoon (March 22) as the final day of banking operations ended.

According to Bank of SVG’s website, On Tuesday 12th October 2021, a Consortium of leading Commercial Banks in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union announced a decision, to enter into an agreement to acquire the assets of CIBC FirstCaribbean Ltd (CIBC FCIB), in Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

On July 15, 2022, First Caribbean International Bank Limited announced that “the sale of its business to two indigenous banks in the eastern Caribbean has received approval from the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.”

At that time, the bank also announced that it “will now begin the process of transferring its clients to the Bank of St. Vincent & Grenadines Limited in St. Vincent and the St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla National Bank in St. Kitts. This process is expected to take several months.”

In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Bank Of Saint Vincent & the Grenadines (BOSVG), a member of the consortium of banks, has taken over operations of CIBC First Caribbean International Bank in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

CIBC First Caribbean International Bank’s acquisition has been met with mixed reactions.

In July 2022, CIBC First Caribbean International Bank described itself as “a relationship bank offering a full range of market leading financial services through our Corporate and Investment Banking, Retail and Business Banking and Wealth Management segments. We are located in fifteen (15) countries around the Caribbean, providing the banking services through approximately 2,800 employees in 64 branches and offices. We are one of the largest regionally listed financial services institutions in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean, with US$13 billion in assets and market capitalization of US$1.3 billion.”

“We also have a representative office in Hong Kong that provides business development and relationship management for our fund administration. The face of banking is changing throughout the world and CIBC FirstCaribbean intends to lead these changes with the expertise, integrity and knowledge gained from banking in the Caribbean since 1836,” the bank added.

Here is statement published on CIBC’s Facebook page earlier in March 2023:

Our final day of business is 22 March, 2023. The branch will close to business at 3:00pm. We will immediately begin transferring client information and other aspects of our business to Bank of St. Vincent & Grenadines. Because there will be a few days where there is a necessary break in services to allow us to transfer your account information and ensure this is done accurately, there are some things you should remember to do prior to closure to ensure you have adequate access to funds to do your business.

RETAIL CLIENTS

• If you are a client of our Online Banking service, you may wish to print your last six months’ statements for your records.
• Our ABMs will close at 1:30pm on Wednesday, 22 March and will become inaccessible. You will be able to access BOSVG’s ABMs and branches from Monday, 27 March. You should therefore ensure you get enough cash to serve you during that period.
• 6:00pm on 23 March is the cut off time for using CIBC FirstCaribbean’s credit and debit cards.
• Merchants using CIBC FirstCaribbean terminals will cease to process all cards transactions on the following dates:
• 20 March – American Express Cards
• 22 March – all other cards, including Visa Debit
• If you use cheques, remember that, to facilitate the clearing of cheques, our routing number through the ECACH will remain functional for six months following our cut-off date of 22nd March, 2023. Thereafter, all cheques bearing CIBC FirstCaribbean’s local routing number(s) will no longer be negotiable.

CORPORATE CLIENTS

• Ensure arrangements have been made for transfer of merchant services.
• Ensure arrangements for coin handling are completed no later than 22 March.
• Ensure you have downloaded your last 12 months’ bank statements and any corresponding cheque imaging.
• Last Night Depository drop is 21 March.
• Last credit card usage is 23 March.
• Last online banking log on is 23 March.
• Collect your deposit books by 22 March.
• Final payroll upload is 21 March.