Staffing levels in the local operations of Butterfield Bank are now matched by the number of staff the bank employs outside the Island.

Butterfield CEO Alan Thompson yesterday revealed the growth in staff numbers for the Island's oldest bank at its overseas operations, to shareholders and directors gathered for Butterfield's annual general meeting.

He also revealed the bank had transitioned to using US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for its financial reporting, having previously used the lesser known Canadian form of GAAP.

In a speech, Mr. Thompson said: “This year the group began reporting in accordance with US generally accepted accounting principles. This move from Canadian to US GAAP moves us to a more widely recognised global standard. As a result, we have restated our 2003 figures under US GAAP.”

Mr. Thompson told The Royal Gazette it saw meeting the highest international standards for accounting and compliance as something that just made sense.

The move to accounting principles used by the largest public corporations follows the company making another shift in recent years to reporting earnings in keeping with the traditional calendar where the year-end falls on December 31.

So far, Butterfield has ruled out any possible sale to a foreign banking corporation or listing on a major stock exchange. Speculation on both has been widespread since rival Bank of Bermuda listed some years ago on the Nasdaq and then was sold for $1.3 billion to multinational banking giant HSBC Plc. more than a year ago.

The change in its timing of reporting and a move to US GAAP are both steps that Butterfield would likely have had to make if listing on a major exchange, but Mr. Thompson told The Royal Gazette if that time comes, it isn't now.

“We think our model is working, and if we can meet shareholder expectations, we don't see a reason for change.”

He said Butterfield's goal was to meet or exceed a return on equity of 20 percent, and so far it had been able to do that.

Butterfield, a founding member of the Bermuda Stock Exchange, is currently held by a large Bermudian shareholder base with 70 percent of its investors being locals.

Mr. Thompson added that while the bank had boosted its global presence with six strategic acquisitions recently - five overseas and one in Bermuda - it was “hard to tell” if the global offices were on course to surpass Butterfield's Bermuda presence.

The reason for this, he said, was continued momentum in Bermuda with Butterfield's local operations seeing “a sound year in the face of growing competition in the market.

“Our focus on service and value added products resulted in total income rising 24.2 percent and assets under administration increasing by 26.1 percent [in Bermuda.”

Mr. Thompson would not be drawn on current acquisition plans, except to say that strategic acquisitions were “part of our growth strategy”.

He said acquisitions would always be consistent with the bank's strategic plan but said he could not disclose “what we are looking at”.

In his speech Mr. Thompson said: “The three acquisitions we made in 2004 all complemented and strengthened our core businesses. In the Bahamas the acquisition of a fund administration business enabled us to establish Butterfield Fund Services in the jurisdiction.

Meanwhile we grew our existing private banking business in London and Guernsey with the acquisition of Leopold Joseph. Finally, in Bermuda, Grosvenor Trust was a compelling complement fit for our trust business.

“Since August 2003 we have made six acquisitions.

“They have grown our core businesses in existing locations and increased our footprint in the Caribbean and Europe.

“This geographical diversification is a critical part of the bank's growth. We are not only growing larger, but becoming a stronger organisation in an unpredictable and fast-changing world.”

As already reported, Butterfield net income rose in 2004 by 27.7 percent to over $90 million; total assets rose 11.6 percent to $8.6 billion; total loans rose 35 percent to $2.7 billion strongly driven by the

Leopold Joseph acquisition and customer deposits, a key business for Butterfield, rose 12 percent to $7.4 billion.