Bahamas - FirstCaribbean International Bank

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
October 31, 2007
(expressed in thousands of Bahamian dollars)
1. General information
FirstCaribbean International Bank (Bahamas) Limited (“The Bank”) was formerly
named CIBC Bahamas Limited (“CIBC Bahamas”) and was controlled by Canadian
Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) a company incorporated in Canada. The Bank
changed its name to FirstCaribbean International Bank (Bahamas) Limited on October
11, 2002, following the combination of the retail, corporate and offshore 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 Indies Holdings Limited (the “Parent” or “FCIB”), a company incorporated
in Barbados. The Parent is owned by CIBC. From October 11, 2002, the major
shareholders of FirstCaribbean International Bank (Bahamas) Limited were jointly
CIBC and Barclays Bank PLC, (“Barclays”), a company incorporated in England. On
December 22, 2006, CIBC acquired Barclays’ interest in the Bank and now owns
91.4% of the shares of FirstCaribbean International Bank Limited.
The registered office of the Bank is located at the FirstCaribbean Financial Centre,
2nd Floor, Shirley Street, Nassau, Bahamas.
2. Summary of significant accounting policies
The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these consolidated
financial statements are set out below.
2.1 Basis of presentation
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a historical cost
basis, except for available-for-sale investments, derivative financial instruments
and financial assets and financial liabilities held at fair value through profit or
loss, that have been measured at fair value. The carrying values of recognised
assets and liabilities that are hedged items in fair value hedges, and otherwise
carried at cost, are adjusted to record changes in fair value attributable to
the risks that are being hedged. The consolidated financial statements are
presented in Bahamian dollars, and all values are rounded to the nearest
thousand dollars, except when otherwise indicated.
Statement of compliance
The consolidated financial statements of the Bank have been prepared in
accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Basis of consolidation
Subsidiary undertakings, which are those companies in which the Bank
directly or indirectly has an interest of more than one half of the voting rights
or otherwise has power to exercise control over the operations, have been fully
consolidated. The principal subsidiary undertakings are disclosed in Note 31.
Subsidiaries are consolidated from the date on which the effective control is
transferred to the Bank. They are de-consolidated from the date that control
ceases.
All inter-company transactions, balances and unrealised surpluses and deficits
on transactions and balances have been eliminated. Where necessary,
the accounting policies used by subsidiaries have been changed to ensure
consistency with the policies adopted by the Bank.
The purchase method of accounting is used to account for the acquisition
of subsidiaries by the Bank. The cost of an acquisition is measured as the fair
value of the assets given, equity instruments issued and liabilities incurred or
assumed at the date of the exchange, plus costs directly attributable to the
acquisition. Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities and contingent liabilities
assumed in a business combination are measured initially at their fair values
at the date of acquisition, irrespective of the extent of any minority interest.
The excess of the cost of acquisition over the fair value of the Bank’s share
of the identifiable net assets acquired is recorded as goodwill. If the cost of
the acquisition is less than the fair value of the net assets of the subsidiary
acquired, the difference is recognised directly in the consolidated statement
of income.
See Auditors’ Report Page 56.
61