Butterfield Bank shares fell to their lowest price in nearly four and a half years yesterday, as they slipped almost three percent to dip below the $10 mark.

Yesterday's closing share price of $9.90 was Butterfield's lowest value since August 2004, when taking into account the effect of stock splits.

The bank's shares have fallen steadily in value from their 52-week high of $18.95 on February 20 last year. Yesterday's 30-cent (2.9 percent) decline came as 2,785 of its shares changed hands.

The bank's $920.8 million market capitalisation makes it by far the biggest domestic company listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX). Yesterday's fall in the bank's share price was the main driver behind the Royal Gazette / BSX Index's fall of 65.49 points (1.94 percent) to 3,317.04.

Power company Belco Holdings Ltd. continued its volatile trading of the past two weeks, falling $1 (5.6 percent) to $17, on the trading of 200 shares.

Communications firm KeyTech Ltd., the parent of the Bermuda Telephone Company, fell 20 cents (two percent) to $10.20.