lending institution revealed yesterday.

The offering raised $14,250,036.

"BCB has now more than doubled its capital base and the substantial increase in our equity was one of the last pieces we needed to put in place to position BCB for sustained growth and continued profitability,'' said BCB chairman Mr.

John Deuss.

"The response from the investor community both demonstrated support from our existing shareholders and Bermuda investors in general.

"We are pleased with the way the rights offering has been received,'' he said.

Eighty-six percent of the issues was taken up by existing shareholders with the remainder filled by new investors and applicants for unallocated units.

Investors not able to acquire rights through the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSE) were able to acquire by application for unallocated units.

The offering also means BCB has increased shareholder numbers by 142 to 1,158.

During the rights trading period, the volume of rights traded on the BSE ranked among the highest ever seen in Bermuda compared with other actively traded stocks over a similar trading period, the bank said.

More than 160,000 rights were traded at an average price of $2.45 during the three week trading period, the bank said.

"The successful closing of the BCB rights offering represents another important step forward for the BSE and the local financial services industry.

With the capital base doubled, and the number of shares in issue trebled, we should see an active aftermarket,'' said Bank of Bermuda senior vice president, investments, Mr. Peter Mellor.

"The new warrants should contribute to trading activity on the exchange.

These are very positive developments,'' he said.

Trading of the warrants on the BSE will begin once investors have received the certificates, the bank said.

The bank is now allocating the unallocated units while new share and warrant certificates are expected to be mailed soon.

BCB announced the rights offering at a special general meeting May 11. The rights offering closed June 23.

"The additional capital raised will allow the bank to expand its business while maintaining a low risk stature.

"It will also provide the bank with the flexibility to act on existing and future opportunities quickly and effectively without straining financial resources,'' the bank said.

BCB now has 4,275,108 shares and 1,625,036 warrants in issue.