Bahamas I Bardados I Bermuda I Dominician Republic I Jamaica I Trinidad & Tobago I Costa Rica I El Salvador I Guatemala I Honduras I Nicaragua I Panama I Argentina I Bolivia I Brazil I Chile I Colombia I Ecuador I Mexico I Paraguay I Peru I Uruguay I Venezuela
Assets at Butterfield Bank, one of the oldest financial institutions in the Caribbean, have grown to $9.7 billion, reflecting increasing customer deposits that reached $8.5 billion at the end of March this year. With a swelling loan portfolio of $3.2 billion, the bank’s balance sheet is highly liquid with a loan to customer deposits ratio of almost 40%. Earnings jumped by a fifth to $109 million in 2005. The banking group, which also operates in the UK, achieved return on equity of 26.3% in the first quarter, meeting a promise to deliver ROE of at least 20% a quarter.
Revenues in the Bahamas and in Barbados have grown in particular because of a booming wealth management business and demand for residential mortgages. The bank’s fund administration business in Bermuda grew its assets by more than half in the first three months of the year. Corporate banking in Bermuda beat expectations last year to grow 28% to $1.1