Fitch: Bermuda Commercial Bank's Board Change & First Curacao International Bank Investigation.NEW YORK -- On Sept. 8, 2006, Bermuda Commercial Bank (BCB BCB Banco Central do Brasil (Brazil's central bank) BCB Borland C++ Builder BCB Bangladesh Cricket Board BCB Benzocyclobutene (low loss dielectric substrate) BCB Bumiputra-Commerce Bank BCB Broadcast Band ; short-term rating 'F1', Individual Rating 'B/C' by Fitch) announced that regulators in Curacao and the Netherlands are investigating BCB's major shareholder First Curacao International Bank (FCIB FCIB First Curacao International Bank ), for possible involvement in illegal money laundering activities and other related issues. As a result, BCB Chairman and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. John Deuss, Chief Operating Officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. Timothy Ulrich, and Director Tineke Deuss, who are also officers and/or directors of FCIB, have temporarily relinquished their responsibilities as Directors and Officers of BCB. BCB directors Dr. Clarence Terceira and John Sainsbury have stepped in to serve as CEO and Chief Operating Officer, respectively, for the time being. Fitch does not believe that the resignations have immediate rating implications for BCB. Fitch notes that, although Mr. Deuss and Mr. Ulrich have until recently held senior executive titles at BCB, day-to-day operations of BCB have been handled by Senior Vice President Dominique Smith for several years. Fitch believes that Ms. Smith and her staff are capable of administering BCB's business activities. Also, Dr. Terceira and Mr. Sainsbury have significant executive-level experience in the financial industry, with Dr. Terceira being a former CEO of BCB. Although FCIB owns approximately 47% of BCB, the two companies operate as separate entities and have little business overlap. Also, BCB's regulator, the Bermuda Monetary Authority The Bermuda Monetary Authority is responsible for the licensing of banks, deposit companies and investment businesses, the issue and redemption of Bermuda notes and coins, supervision of Bermuda's financial institutions, providing advice to Government on banking and other financial , is monitoring the recent events and has stated that the suspension of the three directors is appropriate. Fitch will continue to monitor the situation for regulatory, legal and business developments. Fitch's rating definitions and the terms of use Terms of Use are rules set up by the owner of an intellectual property or service to govern how they may be legally used. In many cases, terms of service are used as a contractual agreement between a company and users of a service they provide. of such ratings are available on the agency's public site, www.fitchratings.com. Published ratings, criteria and methodologies are available from this site, at all times. Fitch's code of conduct, confidentiality, conflicts of interest, affiliate firewall, compliance and other relevant policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental are also available from the 'Code of Conduct' section of this site. |
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