Bridgetown, Barbados, 25th February 2014 – CIBC FirstCaribbean has announced the appointment of Ms. Monique French as its new Chief Credit Officer, reporting to the Bank’s Chief Risk Officer. Ms. French, who until recently served as Senior Vice President of Credit Risk with Scotiabank in Jamaica, is a career banker with extensive experience in Risk Management within the financial services sector.

Ms. French, who will eventually be based at CIBC FirstCaribbean’s corporate headquarters in Barbados, will begin her career at the bank with a six-month assignment at its parent company, CIBC, in Canada.

A chartered financial analyst, she holds Masters in Business Administration (MBA), with a specialization in Finance and Marketing, from the Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, Canada, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from The University of the West Indies, at Mona in Jamaica.

As SVP with Scotiabank, Ms. French was responsible for recommending and implementing policies regarding the bank’s retail, small business, commercial, and corporate risks; adjudication of credit proposals to ensure that the bank maintained a sound credit portfolio; management of special accounts and commercial loan recoveries and risk reporting to the Board. Previous to that she was Country Treasurer, Vice-President, with Citigroup in Jamaica, where she began her career in banking fifteen years ago.

Ms. French also served as chairperson of a committee appointed by the Jamaica Bankers’ Association’s executive to develop guiding terms of reference for the evaluation of Credit Bureau prospects, initiated and spearheaded a proposal for a new Bank of Jamaica money market investment instrument, and has contributed to a number of other special projects on behalf of the Bank of Jamaica and the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (PSOJ)

A strong strategic thinker and team builder, Ms. French is a goal-oriented and analytical financial-services professional, who has spent eleven of her fifteen years in the financial services sector at the executive management level.

In announcing Ms. French’s appointment, Chief Risk Officer of CIBC FirstCaribbean, Geoff Scott, remarked: “Monique will be responsible for all credit risk management activities within CIBC FirstCaribbean, including credit adjudication and collections, loss provisioning, sustaining our two major credit enhancement projects, and other strategic initiatives.  I am very pleased that the Bank has been able to attract Monique, who will bring to us a vital combination of strong skills and experience developed in the Caribbean. She has a proven risk management and product-management track record and we are confident she will significantly enhance the capability of the team here at CIBC FirstCaribbean. We are pleased to have her on board.”

Caption: Jamaican Monique French has been appointed CIBC FirstCaribbean’s new Chief Credit Officer.

Related story:

CIBC FirstCaribbean opens USD$5 million new-look branch in Barbados

Bridgetown, BARBADOS, February 21, 2014– CIBC FirstCaribbean recently officially opened its new USD$5 million flagship branch near its corporate headquarters at Warrens, St. Michael, Barbados featuring a new-look design code that will be the hallmark of future branches in the region.

The new design code is similar to the branches of the bank’s parent, CIBC.

Chief Executive Officer of CIBC FirstCaribbean, Rik Parkhill told those gathered for the official opening on February 19, 2014 that the Bank was fully committed to the development of the region and that was demonstrated by its continued upgrading and expansion of its network throughout the Caribbean.

“Over the past few years our branch network has grown to include new offices here in Barbados, in St. Lucia, the Bahamas, Jamaica and Belize, bringing our network of branches in the Caribbean to 68. As part of our strategic plan, we have zeroed in on significant growth areas across the region, and have ensured that we are part of the developing landscape,” he said.

He added: “I have spoken of our commitment to Barbados and to the region. We are grateful that this commitment is shared by our parent company, CIBC, which has been resolute in its backing of our company. CIBC shares our vision of a bright future for the Caribbean, has stood with us throughout this period of challenge, and continues to do so.

It has been heartening for us to know that we have the continued backing of such a strong parent company to create the CIBC FirstCaribbean of the future.”

The new Barbados branch features the latest banking has to offer, including several technology innovations such as a “Learning Zone”, which allows customers visiting the branch to explore the bank’s products and services using both desktop computers and iPads.

It offers a self-service area which is accessible to customers via the main branch entrance even when the banking hall is closed for the day.  In this area, customers can check their accounts, make deposits at night via the night facility, make fast deposits and use the Instant teller® machines – 24 hours a day.

The new flagship branch will also feature the Bank’s latest service innovation – the Mortgage and Loans Centre, which is designed to provide quick turnaround times and financial advice for customers applying for loans and mortgages via the Bank. The branch also offers a drive-through instant teller®.

Within the last three years, the Bank has opened new branches at Sunset Crest and Wildey in Barbados, Orange Walk in Belize, Carmichael Road in the Bahamas, Old Parham Road in Antigua and Rodney Bay in St. Lucia, and refurbished most of its other branches across its footprint.

The Bank has also opened an impressive Wealth Management Centre in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Additionally, CIBC FirstCaribbean has installed 8 new ABMs, bringing the number of machines in its network to 142, and has refurbished and upgraded 13 others as part of its “Evergreen” programme, designed to keep pace with technology updates in the financial services industry.

Managing Director for Retail, Business and International Banking, Mark St. Hill said the new branch represented a “significant investment in our physical plant, and again demonstrates the commitment of our bank and our parent CIBC, to the Caribbean.

“This new way of doing banking shows that we have been listening to our customers when they tell us what they need from us. The Mortgage and Loans Centre, with its emphasis on fast processing of loan applications is something that we have been working on for a while, and I am very pleased to see it come to fruition.”

Managing Director of the Bank’s Barbados business, Donna Wellington said “Warrens has become one of the major business areas in Barbados and the expansion is continuing, so we are pleased at the prospect of offering a full range of our services at this branch.

Caption: (back row, from left)Richard Kennedy, Warrens Branch Manager; Rik Parkhill, CEO of CIBC FirstCaribbean; Mark St. Hill, Managing Director for Retail, Small Business and International Banking; and the bank’s youngest and oldest customers Shania Graham and Ivan Burrowes, share a light moment at the ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the Warrens Banking Centre.

About CIBC FirstCaribbean

CIBC FirstCaribbean is the largest, regionally-listed bank in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean serving over 500,000 accounts in 17 markets, through 3,400 staff, across 100 branches and offices.

The bank offers a full range of market-leading financial services in: Corporate and Investment Banking, Treasury Sales and Trading, Retail Banking, Wealth Management, Small Business and Credit Cards.

CIBC FirstCaribbean is a member of the CIBC Group. CIBC (TSX, NYSE: CM) is a leading North American financial institution serving clients in Canada and around the world. Through three distinct business lines, Retail and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Wholesale Banking, CIBC provides a full range of products and services to almost 11 million individual, small business and commercial banking clients and meets the financial needs of corporate and institutional clients. CIBC is rated A+/Stable/A-1 by Standard & Poor’s.

For more information about CIBC FirstCaribbean, visit www.cibcfcib.com