Barclays Bank, the first bank to establish an operation in the Cayman Islands, is to exit from the local retail market after more than 50 years. The UK-based bank is to sell its 43.7% stake in FirstCaribbean to its partner in the four-year-old joint venture, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).
Barclays, which set up its operation in Cayman in 1953, will continue to run Barclays Private Bank & Trust (Cayman) on the islands.
The deal gives CIBC control of the Caribbean banking group, which operates in 17 countries, taking its ownership to 87.4%. CIBC is offering US$1.1 billion for Barclays 43.7% stake in the business.
Barclays and CIBC combined their Caribbean businesses in 2002 to form FirstCaribbean, each holding a 43.7% stake, with the remainder publicly held.