First Citizens Group CEO quits, resignation sent to finance minister

First Citizens Group CEO Karen Darbasie during an interview with Newsday in May 2018. - Angelo Marcelle

In a sudden and unexplained move, Karen Darbasie, group chief executive officer of First Citizens, has tendered her resignation, according to senior bank and government sources.

Newsday was told that the resignation was submitted to corporation sole Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo on August 20.

A WhatsApp query and calls to Darbasie seeking comment on August 21 went unanswered.

Tancoo, in a WhatsApp comment at 6.09 pm on August 21, responded to a query seeking comment, stating, "In Cabinet. No comment."

Anthony Isidore Smart, chairman of the board of directors of First Citizens Group Financial Holdings Ltd, offered "no comment" on several questions relating to Darbasie's exit and whether any steps had been taken to inform the Securities Exchange Commission and the Central Bank, as prescribed by the bylaws of the Financial Institutions Act.

Newsday was told that the board intends to meet on August 25, where it will consider Darbasie's resignation, and once accepted, the necessary steps would be taken to comply with the provisions of the act.

First Citizens is the majority state-owned bank, and its stocks are traded on the local stock market with the latest share price of just over $41.

A senior banker confirmed Darbasie's exit during a brief telephone interview on August 21 and directed all questions to the chairman of the board, citing bank confidentiality clauses.

According to the senior banker, the board has seven days to comply with the provisions of the Companies Act, and thereafter convene a special general meeting of its shareholders within 21 days.

Newsday understands the bank's group corporate secretary, Lindi Ballah-Tull, is currently seeking to find a suitable venue to host the special general meeting, and several options were proposed, including the National Academy for the Performing Arts in Port of Spain.

The bank has on its roll over 71,000 shareholders, and a representative group is expected to attend the meeting where a new board of directors is expected to be appointed.

Darbasie assumed the role of group CEO in April 2015. She is the first woman to hold that position, and as part of her mandate, she focused on creating, planning, implementing, and integrating the strategic direction of the group.

She has over three decades of experience in the financial services and telecommunications industries with a progressive leadership style underscored by excellence and vision, according to the bank's website.

She held several senior positions at Citibank prior to joining First Citizens Group, serving as a director on several subsidiary boards within the First Citizens Group.

In 2024, Darbasie was awarded the Chaconia Medal Gold in the sphere of banking and finance during Republic Day national awards.

First Citizens Group Financial Holdings is the parent company of the bank and is licensed under the Financial Institutions Act, Chap 79:09. It is a public company, which was listed on the TT Stock Exchange on October 15, 2021, and its shares began trading on October 18, 2021.

In July 2013, the bank held an initial public offering (IPO) on the TT Stock Exchange (TTSE), selling 48,495,665 shares at a price of $22 per share to raise $1.1 billion for the government.

According to reports, the offer was oversubscribed, with the funds intended to widen the bank's capital base and support its strategic expansion plans. The successful IPO resulted in the listing of 251,353,562 ordinary shares on the TTSE in September 2013.

In July 2022, the bank offered 10,869,565 ordinary shares at a price of $50, which was oversubscribed by 55 per cent, and the government's stake in the bank was reduced to 151,077,325 shares equal to 60.11 per cent of the share capital of the bank. The National Insurance Board of TT is the second largest shareholder of the group with about an eight per cent stake.

First Citizens has over $38 billion in assets, 25 branches in Trinidad and three in Tobago, and five in Barbados. It also has a representative office in Costa Rica, which handles its Latin America business, according to the bank's website.

In 2024, the bank recorded a profit before tax of $1.27 billion.

In September 2022, Smart, Courtenay Braemar Williams, Savitree Seepersad, Troy Garcia, and Jayselle McFarlane were re-elected as members of the board. Colin Wharfe was elected as a new member. Their term of office was scheduled to expire next month.