Barclays Bank PLC and CIBC announced today an agreement to combine their retail, corporate and offshore banking operations in the Caribbean to create FirstCaribbean International Bank.

Implementation of the combination is subject to the receipt of certain approvals from government and regulatory authorities and shareholders of CIBC West Indies Holdings Ltd. and CIBC Bahamas Limited.

“Now that this agreement is signed we will continue to work on the formal process of gaining the required approvals,” said Michael Mansoor, President and CEO of CWIHL. “We are confident that a FirstCaribbean combination will bring great benefits to our customers, employees and the broader communities where we are located. We expect the transaction to complete during the first quarter of 2002.”

“During this period, it will be business as usual for the two companies’ customers,” said Charles Middleton, Barclays Regional Director of the Caribbean. “As soon as we can, we will begin the process of combining our two organizations. This will involve a period of detailed planning and subsequent implementation, which will be effected over 24 months. As this work unfolds, we will continue to keep our customers, employees and regulators informed of our progress.”