Butterfield Bank

Butterfield

Type	Public
Traded as	BSX: 109
Founded	1858
Headquarters	Hamilton, Bermuda
Area served	Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Switzerland, United Kingdom
Products	banking

Butterfield, officially The Bank of N. T. Butterfield & Son Limited, is a bank founded and based in Bermuda. In addition to Bermuda, it operates in the Bahamas, Barbados, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, providing private banking, wealth management and trust fund services. It is listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) and the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange (CSX).

Global Finance magazine has consistently listed the Bank as one of the world's best developed market banks.^[1]

History

A branch of Butterfield Bank in Bridgetown, Barbados.

It grew out of a Bermuda trading company founded by Nathaniel Butterfield in 1758; Butterfield's son, Nathaniel T., expanded the business to include financial services. In 1858 the Bank of N. T. Butterfield & Son was founded as Bermuda's first bank. Nathaniel T. was succeeded by his son Nathaniel A. as head of the bank, which was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1904.

In 1941, during World War II, the bank opened a branch in St. George's, Bermuda to service military personnel. Following the war the bank experienced rapid growth, increasing its number of shareholders by 42% and thus becoming the largest Bermuda company in terms of shareholders. During the 1960s, the bank opened branches in the United Kingdom and the Cayman Islands and formed new companies to handle mortgages and trusts, followed by its third Bermuda branch, in Somerset, Bermuda, in 1970. During the 1980s the bank took over the Bermuda National Bank, expanded its overseas business and introduced automated teller machines (ATMs) into Bermuda. In recent years, Butterfield has expanded into Barbados and taken over City of London merchant bank Leopold Joseph, This purchase also included Leopold Joseph Guernsey Limited.^[2]

In 2008, Butterfield Bank held a 51% market share of deposits in Bermuda, followed by the Bank of Bermuda HSBC at 41%.^[3]

In March 2010, Butterfield Group posted a $213M loss, and announced that CIBC, the Carlyle Group and other institutional investors had collectively purchased a majority stake in the bank through a capital injection of $550 million USD.^[4]

It was also announced at the same time that CEO & President Alan Thompson had stepped down from leadership of the company, with CFO Brad Kopp now assuming control of the company. The economic conditions present throughout 2009/2010, along with the ongoing attempt to outsource all IT operations ^[5] to a Canadian data centre (and the challenges and significant expenses in doing so) have further challenged the bank, with shares dropping to a low of $1.20.

References

1. ^ "The World's Best Developed Market Banks 2010". Global Finance (magazine). http://www.gfmag.com/tools/best-banks/10051-the-worlds-best-developed-market-banks-2010.html. Retrieved 2010-02-18. 
2. ^ "Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited". Bermuda Stock Exchange.. 2009. http://www.bsx.com/CompanyDisplay.asp?CompanyID=109. Retrieved 2009-05-17. 
3. ^ Kent, Jonathan (May 16. 2009). "S&P revises Island's ratings outlook to negative". The Royal Gazette. http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7d9580f30030001&sectionId=60. Retrieved 2010-10-03. 
4. ^ [1]
5. ^ [2]

External links

• Butterfield Group website
• Butterfield Group: Our History
• Annual Reports

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