(Jamaica) Limited - FirstCaribbean International Bank

notes to the Financial Statements
Year Ended 31 October 2009
(Expressed in Jamaican dollars unless otherwise indicated)
1. Corporate Information
FirstCaribbean International Bank (Jamaica) Limited (the “Bank”), which was incorporated and is domiciled in Jamaica,
is a 96.3% (2008 - 96.3%) subsidiary of FirstCaribbean International Bank Limited (the “Parent”), a bank incorporated
and domiciled in Barbados. The ultimate parent company and controlling party is Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
(“CIBC”), a company incorporated in Canada.
The registered office of the Bank is located at 23-27 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Jamaica.
The Bank is licensed and these financial statements are prepared in accordance with the Banking Act, 1992 and the
Banking (Amendment) Act, 1997.
The Bank is listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
The Bank’s subsidiary, FirstCaribbean International Building Society is 100% owned and is incorporated and domiciled in
Jamaica. Its principal activity is mortgage financing and its year end is October 31.
The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Bank and its subsidiary. The Bank and its
subsidiary are collectively referred to as the “Group”.
2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
The principal financial accounting policies adopted in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below:
(a) Basis of preparation
(i) Statement of compliance
These financial statements have been prepared in conformity with International Reporting Financial Standards
(IFRS) and the requirements of the Jamaican Companies Act.
(ii) Basis of measurement
These financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention as modified by the
revaluation of available-for-sale investment securities, derivative financial instruments and the measurement
at deemed cost of certain land and buildings. Deemed cost represents fair value at the date of transition to
IFRS.
(iii) Judgement and estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires management to make certain critical
estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying
notes. Actual results could differ from these estimates. The areas requiring a higher degree of judgement or
complexity, or areas where assumptions and estimates are significant to the financial statements, are disclosed
in Note 36.
(iv) Basis of consolidation
Subsidiaries, which are those entities in which the Group has an interest of more than one half of the voting
rights or otherwise has power to govern the financial and operating policies, are consolidated.
Subsidiaries are consolidated from the date on which control is transferred to the Group and are no longer
consolidated from the date that control ceases. The purchase method of accounting is used to account for
the acquisition of subsidiaries. The cost of an acquisition is measured as the fair value of the assets given up,
shares issued or liabilities undertaken at the date of acquisition plus cost directly attributable to the acquisition.
The excess of the cost is recorded as goodwill. Inter-company transactions, balances and unrealised gains on
transactions between the Group companies are eliminated; unrealised losses are also eliminated unless cost
cannot be recovered.
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