Tread carefully

Michael Mansoor, Chairman of First Caribbean International Bank (FCIB) is dismissive of the  criticism that his bank is not a Caribbean one. FCIB is a merger between  CIBC Caribbean Limited and Barclays Bank PLC, one of the largest banks in the Caribbean. The bank is listed on the TT, Barbados, and Jamaica stock exchanges “We are in 15 different countries from Belize to Barbados, we think that makes us Caribbean,” Mansoor, the former CEO of the ANSA McAl group of companies, said in an interview. “That is our definition, our footprint,” he said.  A panel discussion on the future of banking in the Caribbean at the EuroMoney/Latin Finance forum at the Trinidad Hilton pitted local indigenous banks like Republic, RBTT against foreign entities like FCIB and Scotiabank.

There was the feeling that the latter banks were not Caribbean entities and that they were merely global conduits for their home banks. “One could discuss and debate the definition of Caribbean, whether it is the English-speaking Caribbean or the Spanish- speaking Caribbean, Latin America or Central America,” he said. But for the immediate future, “we see our market as the Caribbean.” He said he does not subscribe to the view that the region is over- banked and thinks that banks have to expand their services. Some Caribbean banks are only serving some segments of the financial services arena, he said, noting that within the region there is still a lot of opportunity for them. GHL CEO Peter Ganteaume disagreed with the emphasis placed by the panel on banking and said the way for regional banks to go was the provision of financial services. Asked if traditional banks needed to go that route, Mansoor said  regional banks had to be careful. “We regard ourselves as an institution that has to grow,” he said, “and when the right opportunity comes along at the right time, we will take advantage of it.

The tasks at hand is integrating Barclays and CIBC in 15 countries and when that work is completed, “we well look at other opportunities.” On mergers and acquisitions, he was blunt. “One never talks about mergers and acquisitions, it is always a matter of willing  partners on both sides.” On reports that FCB was planning a merger with FCIB, he said he did not want to comment on that. “I think it totally inappropriate to comment on conversations that one did not have or one had, until there is a right time. It would be totally wrong of me to comment on a question like that. It is just wring to do that.” “When we have something to talk about, we will talk,” he said.

Asked whether CIBC was going the way of RBTT and Guardian Holdings Limited (GHL) and straddle both the banking and insurance sector, Mansoor said this was not part of the bank’s short term strategy, noting that it may consider this in the long term. There were several segments to the financial services sector. FCIB, he said, wanted to evaluate all opportunities before taking that plunge. “We want to evaluate what is best for our customers, and shareholders and our staff,” he said. On the point made by panelist Scotia boss, Richard Young, that if Caribbean banks wanted to expand, they would have to seek international help, Mansoor said he believed Caribbean banks are capable of expanding their footprints to larger countries of the world, especially in Latin America  and Central America.

Even so, he said, such opportunities will have to be evaluated in accordance with strategic and strict business criteria. “One should not believe that mergers or acquisitions are matters that one does every day of the week, so that those decisions are not easy to make, they are strategic decisions,” he said First Citizens Bank chairman Ken Gordon, in the question and answer session, wanted to know whether regional banks could play a bigger role in alleviating poverty. In the brief interview after, Mansoor said “anyone who says we are doing enough to alleviate poverty in marginalised  parts of our population needs to reexamine his views.” “More can be done,” he said, noting that banks are financial institutions and they owe a primary responsibility to people who invest in them.