After announcing $550 million in new capital this week, Butterfield Bank (Cayman) Limited Managing Director Conor O’Dea has expressed enthusiasm and confidence in the group’s Cayman operation, as well as the franchise.

“This capital raise has put the Butterfield Group in a very competitive position in the market allowing us to de-risk the Butterfield Group balance sheet and position us for good, consistent growth going forward,” he stated.

Mr. O’Dea has acknowledged that there have been various interpretations of the transaction within the industry and media, further commenting that the Bank’s brand remains strong.

“On behalf of all the bank’s employees, I would thank our customers for their loyalty over the years and especially since the onset of the current global economic recession.

Mr. O’Dea also outlined Cayman’s financial results for 2009, giving some context for customers, stating he encourages “customers   to engage our customer service employees to address any concerns they may have regarding any aspect of the bank.”

“Cayman has maintained a strong financial performance, reporting net income of $8.7 million in 2009 after a specific loan loss provision of $6.4 million on one Caribbean hospitality loan.  Obviously, the financial performance is down over previous years given the historically low dollar interest rates, which have prevailed for the past year impacting our net interest income. We have continued to lend money to our customers to ensuring that we play our part in keeping the local economy active.

Mr. O’Dea is confident that customers will be pleased with the outcome of the capital raising transaction, crediting the company’s team who have gone above and beyond to communicate with the Bank’s customers. “We have outstanding relationship managers at Butterfield, and they have made sure their clients are well-equipped with results information and details of the capital transaction. This has been a transparent process aimed to retain the confidence of our loyal customers.

“The investors did extensive due diligence on the Butterfield Group in all jurisdictions in which we operate,” stated Mr. O’Dea. “And the completion of the capital raise involved considerable effort by all parties to conclude it successfully.”

Fitch Ratings has reaffirmed Butterfield’s long-term issuer default rating at ‘A-‘. Moody’s has reaffirmed the Bank’s Prime-1 short-term deposit rating and given a long-term deposit rating of ‘A2’. S&P has also reaffirmed their counterparty credit rating of ‘A-/A2’.

“In trying economic times, strategic partnerships are key for organisations, which are looking to the future,” Mr. O’Dea elaborated. “It is our job as a bank to serve our customers and communities in which we operate whilst constantly thinking about evolving, improving and changing, so that we can remain competitive. We must retain the loyalty and confidence of those customers and communities.

“The successful completion of the US$550 million capital raise by the Group strengthens the financial position of the Butterfield Group,” closed Mr. O’Dea. “We are setting our sights on building an even stronger franchise for our stakeholders. Everyone will benefit in the end.”