To salute and celebrate female staff, CIBC FirstCaribbean hosted a Financial, Legal and Health Wellness seminar for the women employees of the bank.

They were treated to expert presentations from Beulah Arthur, CIBC FirstCaribbean’s Treasurer, Sherrylynn Bastian, CIBC FirstCaribbean’s Legal Counsel, and Dr. Gertrude Holder, MD.

Mrs. Arthur counselled the women on the importance of planning, investment and risk management in maintaining healthy finances. She urged the women to be proactive in their financial affairs because, though banks such as CIBC FirstCaribbean offer many useful planning and saving tools, it was up to the conscious planner to actually use them, and wisely.

She also offered helpful tips such as: set realistic goals, never invest more than 10% of your assets in a single entity, take advantage of employer stock options in moderation, and diversify your portfolio when investing.

Sherrylynn Bastian CIBC FirstCaribbean’s Legal Counsel, followed Mrs. Arthur, guiding the women through best practices and on the handling of their legal affairs. She answered questions on the legalities involved in property ownership, the finer details of getting your mortgage documentation perfect, and de-mystifying estate planning.

Additionally, she highlighted issues that disproportionately affect women such as the financial repercussions of divorce and separations, the importance of including your name on joint conveyances and shared assets, and tailoring wills to protect minor offspring.

Dr. Holder’s presentation, the last of the evening, centred on female health and wellness and covered a wide range of issues affecting Bahamian women such as: breast cancer, diabetes, weight loss, depression, and menopause. She also shared with the women some of the cutting edge discoveries and treatments being made with regard to the health issues that affect women most. Duquesa Dean, Customer Experience Manager at CIBC FirstCaribbean, who helped organise the seminar, said the event was very successful and attendees left feeling well-informed and empowered.

“Feedback from attendees suggests that the information was both relevant and timely for many staff members. I found the event to be a rewarding experience and I believe other attendees feel the same,” she added.

The event was a part of a wider bank goal to uplift women, employees or not, in recognition of International Women’s Day. CIBC FirstCaribbean branches across the region not only hosted financial seminars for staff, but each donated to a community organisation in their country catering to women. CIBC FirstCaribbean Bahamas chose to give to S.T.R.A.W. Inc Centre for Young Women and will also participate in the organisation’s upcoming Annual Girls Leadership Conference.

About CIBC FirstCaribbean

CIBC FirstCaribbean is the largest, regionally-listed bank in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean serving over 500,000 accounts in 17 markets, through 2,900 staff, across 100 branches and offices.

The bank offers a full range of market-leading financial services in: Corporate and Investment Banking, Treasury Sales and Trading, Retail Banking, Wealth Management, Small Business and Credit Cards.

CIBC FirstCaribbean is a member of the CIBC Group. CIBC (TSX, NYSE: CM) is a leading North American financial institution serving clients in Canada and around the world. Through three distinct business lines, Retail and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Wholesale Banking, CIBC provides a full range of products and services to almost 11 million individual, small business and commercial banking clients and meets the financial needs of corporate and institutional clients. CIBC is rated A+/Stable/A-1 by Standard & Poor's. For more information about CIBC FirstCaribbean, visit www.cibcfcib.com