Butterfield Bank expects its financial results will be boosted by a one-time gain of $110 million during the second half of this year through the imminent merger of its fund services unit with the Fulcrum Group.

In a joint announcement on Tuesday, Butterfield Fund Services (BFS) and Fulcrum announced they had agreed to join forces to create Butterfield Fulcrum Group (BFG), which will have $100 billion in assets under administration and will employ some 400 people in nine countries. Butterfield Bank chief executive officer Alan Thompson said yesterday: "Upon closing, the merger of Butterfield Fund Services and Fulcrum Group will allow us to unlock for shareholders the significant value that we have built in BFS.

"At the conclusion of the transaction, Butterfield Bank expects to realise a one-time gain in excess of $110 million in the second half of 2008. In addition, our ownership stake in BFG provides us with a potentially lucrative source of income from continued involvement in the fund services industry."