Butterfield Bank's role in assisting with the issuing of 2.5 million shares of Bermuda Aviation Services, in a deal worth $15.8 million, has won it the 'Deal of the Year 2007' award for Bermuda from The Banker magazine, a Financial Times publication.

The news comes a day after the bank bought back 470,000 of its own shares at $60 each, as part of its 2007 share repurchase programme. The massive buy back accounted for the majority of the $28.5 million-worth of shares traded on the Royal Gazette/Bermuda Stock Exchange on Wednesday which sent the index to a record high of 5,188.66.

The BSX said it had been advised the shares are to be held in treasury under the bank's 2007 share repurchase programme announced at the beginning of 2007.

Butterfield Bank's latest accolade, courtesy of the The Banker, recognises its role as sole underwriter and issue sponsor of a BAS rights offering in February, 2006.

BAS is one of Bermuda's leading non-financial services public companies and the largest operator at the Island's international airport, and over 80 percent of existing BAS shareholders exercised their rights to acquire additional shares under a one-for-one offer.

Funds raised through the transaction allowed BAS to retire all existing corporate debt and buy back the bulk of shares held by minority shareholders in certain of its subsidiary companies. The market value of the company doubled as a result of the transaction, leading the BSX to graduate BAS to the main board for domestic, large-cap companies in Bermuda.

The Banker heralded the significance of the deal, noting it marked "the reopening of the equity market" in Bermuda.

The Butterfield Bank-BAS deal was the first major local capital markets underwriting transaction in Bermuda in over ten years involving transferable rights and, at the time, was the largest ever rights issue by a local Bermuda corporation underwritten by a Bermuda bank. BAS was the first local company on the Island to have issued shares in this way for several years, creating a new opportunity for investors.

Richard Ferrett, chief financial officer of Butterfield Bank, said: "This award helps bring recognition to the capital markets capabilities of Butterfield Bank and reflects the fact that, although the Bermuda market generally has low trading volumes and issuance activity, we do have a sophisticated and transparent capital markets infrastructure in place on the Island."

Michael Darling, BAS chairman in his annual letter to shareholders last May, said: "The most important event (for the company) this year was the rights issue. We were able to retire 100 percent of the company's debt (and funds remaining) will be used to make further acquisitions when opportunities present themselves."