FirstCaribbean International Bank is fully committed to providing credit card and a full range of banking services in the Bahamas.
"We see the Credit Card business as pivotal to our future. The Credit Card business is fiercely competitive and scale driven and it is therefore essential that we continually examine our activities to ensure that we have a structure that enables us to best service our customers at the best price," the bank said in a statement released Tuesday in response to union's concerns.
"As we integrate the Bank, position ourselves to best service our customers and grow our business, the process of moving where we are to where we need to be is not always easy. We are however firmly committed to involving and assisting our staff through such transition. To minimise adverse staff impact consequential to changes that are needed to move forward, FirstCaribbean is developing a very robust redeployment programme to facilitate placement of staff in alternative roles within the organisation," the bank said.
With regards to recent matters appearing in the press, Card Service Management met last week with Bahamas Card Centre staff as part of its commitment to share its plans with the staff, said the bank.
"We unfortunately erred in not previously sharing this information with the unions. We have written to the union apologising for this oversight and conveying our regrets for this error on our part. "Following some initial discussions with the government and the union we have put all actions relating to Card Service operations in the Bahamas on hold until we have properly consulted with the union and following that consultation have a dialogue with the Government. The communication process that FirstCaribbean is committed to is one of respectful engagement. We have committed to our staff and the union assurance that we will maintain this principle going forward. We have started our dialogue with the union."
FirstCaribbean said it remains fully committed to continuing to provide efficient credit card and banking service to its customers in The Bahamas and the bank would like to assure all customers of its pledge to long-term service.
About FirstCaribbean International Bank
FirstCaribbean is the result of the combination of two complementary and leading financial services businesses in the Caribbean ﾖ Barclays Bank PLC and CIBC West Indies Holdings Limited ﾖ with the aim of offering its customers enhanced products and improved and extended access to banking services. FirstCaribbean focuses on the needs of the businesses and people of the Caribbean while delivering the global reach of its founding institutions. FirstCaribbean or its operating companies are publicly traded on the stock exchanges of Barbados, Jamaica, The Bahamas and Trinidad and Tobago, and by market capitalisation is one of the largest locally listed banks in the Caribbean based with approximately US$9 billion in assets, and over 700,000 accounts. FirstCaribbean operates in fifteen countries. More information about FirstCaribbean can be found at www.firstcaribbeanbank.com.
By Lindsay Thompson, The Nassau Guardian
