Currency Accounts
You have access to a range of currency accounts all designed to help you make the most of your money.

You can choose from our:

Current Accounts :
These are available in all major currencies including US dollars, Canadian Dollars, Sterling, Euros and are suitable if you regularly receive and need to pay out money in these currencies. You will have immediate access to your money at all times and cheque books can be made available in some circumstances. A regular monthly statement is provided free of charge and arrangements can be made for standing orders to meet recurring payments.

Call Deposit Accounts:
These are also available in all major currencies. You can earn interest on this account and still have immediate access to your money.

Fixed Interest Rate Deposit Accounts
With a fixed interest rate deposit account you won't have to worry about what might happen to interest rates in the future because you'll get a fixed rate for the whole period for which the deposit is placed. Fixed rate deposits are available for terms of 1 month up to 12 months. Deposits are available in US Dollars, Canadian Dollars, Sterling or Euros and a minimum deposit of US$10,000 or equivalent is required. Deposits are available in other major currencies but requirements may differ.

Structured Index Linked Products [subject to availability]
Structured Index Linked deposits are personal bonds which offer the potential for participation in equity market returns while guaranteeing the return of your principal. A minimum investment of $100,000 is required (smaller amounts can be accepted, subject to some conditions) and the investment period ranges from one to four years.Some issues offer attractive rates of interest for a cash portion of the deposit for a specified period (usually one year). A return on the bond is not, however, guaranteed and in the worst case you could recover only your principal.Bonds are issued on a periodic basis with returns linked to a specific stock index, e.g. Dow Jones, FTSE 100, S & P, CAC, DAX etc. Investors are provided with a term sheet for each issue, which provides full details of the calculation of the return.

The bond can only be withdrawn at maturity but can be used to secure a personal loan if funds are required in an emergency. Structured bonds provide a good alternative to fixed deposits, especially in a low-interest-rate environment, and give customers an introduction to equity markets investment without the risks.

FirstCaribbean Gold Visa Card
The FirstCaribbean Gold Visa Card gives you more spending power through increased limits and a generous daily withdrawal facility. Card-holders can withdraw cash 24 hours a day from any ATM that displays the Visa sign. Additional benefits include free travel insurance when tickets are paid for with the FirstCaribbean Gold Visa, free auto rental insurance, an emergency cash advance as and when you need it, and free travel assistance services such as emergency medical and legal referrals.

The FirstCaribbean Gold Visa must be cash secured and provides a convenient means of access to funds held offshore.

If you would like to apply for a FirstCaribbean Gold Visa Card, please visit How to Apply.

Telephone Banking
Telephone Banking is currently available to customers of our British Virgin Islands, Bahamas and Barbados International Banking Centres. You can check your account balances and latest transaction on your FirstCaribbean accounts. Please contact your respective centre for details on how to apply. Find out more about FirstCaribbean Internet & Telephone Banking!

Purchasing Residential Property In the Caribbean
The FirstCaribbean International Mortgage is long-term financing available from FirstCaribbean to purchase or construct your dream vacation home in the Caribbean. Financing is available for up to 70% of the cost to purchase or construct second homes in most Caribbean jurisdictions for periods of up to 20 years at competitive rates of interest. If you would like to apply for a FirstCaribbean Mortgage, please visit How to Apply.

The FirstCaribbean International Mortgage provides convenient and flexible finance for residential properties in the Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bonaire, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Jamaica, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, Tobago and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Mortgages can be provided for up to 70% for the purchase of properties costing up to US$2.5 million and up to 60% for properties costing in excess of that amount. The financing limit for the construction of new properties is 50% of cost. Owners of existing Caribbean property can also obtain financing for up to 50% of the value to finance alternative investments.

In all cases, mortgages are provided for up to the lower of the cost or value of the property, as established by a professionally recognised Appraiser and run for a period of up to twenty years.

Mortgages are available in US or Canadian dollars, Sterling and Euros, with variable interest rates linked to US LIBOR. Interest rates can also be fixed for two, three, five and ten year periods and longer on request. Interest is accrued on the daily balance and charged quarterly for LIBOR linked loans. We can also allow an initial five year interest only option, subject to conditions.

FirstCaribbean has teams of dedicated professionals located in key jurisdictions ready to assist with any advice or specific local information and professional referrals you may need.

Moving Money Around
Moving money around the world is essential in conducting international business. To assist our customers, FirstCaribbean offers a variety of money transfer services to suit different business needs.

Your choice will depend on how much money you wish to send, and how urgently it is needed. Payments are sent using an electronic bank to bank transfer, which is suitable for both urgent and less time critical transfers.

You can use the FirstCaribbean International Payments Service confident in the knowledge that it is an inter-bank transfer of cleared funds. When payments arrive at receiving banks, the funds are available to the beneficiaries immediately. This can help to improve cash flow and ensure that transactions and trade proceed smoothly. Since the payments are sent bank to bank by secure methods, customers can be sure that their funds are protected and safe from misuse.

This product represents a flexible method of sending funds overseas, which can meet different requirements in terms of speed and cost. Funds can be drawn from sterling, US dollar or other foreign currency accounts, or applied against a forward exchange contract.

The benefits of payments through FirstCaribbean
Inter-bank transfers
Payments unconditional and guaranteed
No maximum value
Payments from sterling, dollar or foreign currency accounts or forward contracts
Payments in any freely traded currency
Payments to any destination
Payment instructions may be given by post, fax or telephone by prior agreement
FirstCaribbean commission refunded if commitments not met

Helpful hints for effecting transfers to and from FirstCaribbean Bank
Depending on your request there may be cases where several intermediary banks are involved and this can occasionally give rise to delay and additional costs. We encourage you, whenever you have a choice, to choose a FirstCaribbean Bank or one of our correspondents as your remitting bank to effect transfers.

Please have your remitting bank format the instruction in SWIFT payment form. Your bank will have details about this format. Please have your remitting bank send a MT100 (SWIFT message type) to ensure all beneficiary details are included and funds will be transmitted without delay.

Worldwide there are several time-zones, further influenced by summertime, and your instruction may originate and end in different zones. Naturally this may impact on the value date of payments. Please bear this in mind when making payments or enquiring about receipts.

Same day value cannot be achieved for instructions received after 2pm. Please confirm this time as it may vary as technology and volumes change. Differing timezones will also need to be taken into account for the 2pm deadline.

A return fax number, or preferably a telephone contact number, should be included at all times.

Transferring funds out of your account
The following information should be clearly highlighted:
Account number to be debited
Amount of transfer plus charges
Reference details to be included
Beneficiary's Bank with full address and SWIFT code/ABA routing number
Beneficiary's name and account number
In order to expedite the transfer process for amounts over the stated threshold, calling ahead of time and advising someone in the payments team of the details of the incoming instructions would be helpful. Please highlight the name of the person spoken to in the body of the fax.

Transferring funds into your account
For instructions on how to transfer funds into your FirstCaribbean account, click on the relevant country below:

FirstCaribbean International Securities Dealing Service
FirstCaribbean offers you a securities dealing service that is both friendly and competitively priced. We won’t baffle you with stock market jargon, hidden fees and complicated commission structures. Nor will we leave your call waiting forever in queues or insist that you use touchtone and automated phone systems.

You can buy and sell shares at market or place limit orders by simply sending facsimile instructions to your FirstCaribbean Relationship Manager, in most cases the same Relationship Manager who looks after your regular banking requirements. Our service is available to take your orders from 9am to 5pm with the exception of public holidays in Cayman or in the jurisdiction of your account or when the respective stock market is closed.

We pride ourselves on the quality of our customer service. Our Relationship Managers have earned high praise for their prompt, courteous and accurate responses to your inquiries.

While we don’t offer investment advice, we will make every attempt to ensure that execution of your orders is efficient and hassle free and that communication about your account is world-class.

We are a member of the CIBC Group and one of the Caribbean's largest financial services companies, so you can be confident you are dealing with a reputable and trusted institution.

Our Company:
FirstCaribbean International Bank was formed on October 14th 2002 by the combination of the Caribbean operations of Barclays Bank PLC based in the UK and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) based in Toronto. Barclays and CIBC were majority shareholders of FirstCaribbean, each having a 43.60% shareholding with the remaining 12.80% traded on the various Caribbean stock exchanges, making FirstCaribbean International Bank an Associated Company of Barclays Bank PLC and CIBC.

On December 22nd 2006, CIBC acquired Barclays stake and became the majority shareholder in FirstCaribbean. FirstCaribbean is now a member of the CIBC Group.

Investing:
FirstCaribbean’s wealth management customers can use the securities dealing service to invest in:

• Shares on all the major exchanges in the world including, the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Europe.
• Government Bonds, Corporate Bonds, and Eurobonds.
• Treasury Bills
• Mutual Funds, Investment Trusts and Unit Trusts

Please ask us about any other instruments you may be interested in.

Brokerage and Custody:
FirstCaribbean’s brokerage service is provided by CIBC Bank and Trust Company (Cayman) Ltd, which is registered and operated in the Cayman Islands. (All listed orders are executed directly on the appropriate exchange).

CIBC Mellon, one of the largest custodians in North America, provides custodial services. Your securities are registered electronically using FirstCaribbean’s nominee services agreement with CIBC Bank and Trust Company (Cayman) Ltd.

Paying for your trades:
Trades are only executed on a full cash settlement basis. You are therefore required to have funds on your FirstCaribbean bank account to cover the full cost of the trade including charges prior to execution of trades.

Your relationship manager will debit your account with the cost of the trade on the respective settlement date and send you confirmation of completion of your order. For most securities, settlement for both buying and selling will take place within three business days after the transaction. For other investments the timing may vary.

Statements:
You can receive quarterly statements on your account free of charge. More frequent statements can be provided for a fee (See below).

Fees & Commissions:

Equities & Bonds:	½ % of the value of the assets being purchased.
Mutual Funds:	Subject to a front-end sales fee or in some cases a back end loaded fee.
Custody:	¼ % of the total value of assets in the account charged quarterly.
Wire/SWIFT Payments:	US$40.00 or equivalent.
Statements:	Quarterly- free. Weekly/Monthly, US$10.00 per account.
Portfolio Valuations:	US$50.00 per account.

Our Teams:
The International Securities Dealing Service is available from any one of our six Caribbean International Banking Centres, which are located in The Bahamas, Barbados, The British Virgin Islands, The Cayman Islands, Curacao and The Turks & Caicos Islands. Existing customers should contact their relationship manager in the centre where their account is located.

Opening an Account.
Users of the service must first become customers of FirstCaribbean International Bank by completion of our standard account acceptance requirements. Customers are then required to sign our Service Agreement and Application Form for the International Securities Dealing Service. Existing banking customers are only required to sign the Agreement and Application Form. Your securities account will usually be active within five days of receipt of the completed application form by FirstCaribbean. Please contact your Relationship Manager or any one of our Wealth Management Centres for more information

Wealth Management Centres