Imbert: 26% drop in First Citizens shares frightening

Former finance minister Colm Imbert. -

FORMER finance minister Colm Imbert said shareholders in First Citizens should be frightened that the price of First Citizens Group Financial Holdings (FCGFH) shares has fallen by 26 per cent. He called on the authorities to look into the matter.

In a post on X on November 11, Imbert said, “Something sinister is happening with the price of FCGFH shares on the Stock Exchange since April 28.

"FCB's earnings have continually improved over the years and there is no way its share price can drop 26 per cent from $42 on April 28 to $31 on November 10 unless someone is manipulating the price.”

Speaking at the PNM’s weekly media conference at the Office of the Opposition Leader, Charles Street, Port of Spain on November 13, Imbert said there had been two public offerings of FCB shares where thousands purchased shares.

He said in the budget speech, Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo spoke about another phase of the National Investment Fund (NIF), which would be backed by a big block of FCB shares.

“It is therefore of concern to everyone, all the little people who invested in FCB, when it was first done, and those who bought FCB shares subsequently, and the government is saying it wants to generate a billion dollars in revenue from the sale of a block of FCB shares, that the share price has dropped by 26 per cent since the general election.

“It has to be frightening for a pensioner, an elderly person, who put their money into FCB, to see the share price just plummet like that. You’ve got to be frightened, because let’s say you put $200,000, your gratuity or something like that, into FCB shares, you’ve just lost $50,000 in value over the last six months. It’s got to be frightening, it’s a very serious matter.”

Imbert said he has been particularly concerned with how bank shares had been performing.

“I don’t think our stock exchange is sufficiently sophisticated enough to deal with someone who sells 100 shares, because that’s what’s going on. If you care to do the research, you’re going to see some of these huge drops in the price of bank shares. It started with Republic Bank but now it has gone to FCB over the last six months or so, it’s 100, 200 shares, dropping the price by $3, $4, $5. That doesn’t happen anywhere else in the world and I think that’s something the authorities need to look at.”

According to the TT Stock Exchange website, the share price at close of business on April 28 was $41.90. On May 28, the share price was $45 and declined thereafter. The price first dipped below $40 on September 4 and continued to decline, finishing at $33.75 on November 13, down from $33.92 on November 12.

Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo, via Whatsapp on November 11, in response to Imbert’s post, said, “There is nothing here worthy of comment.”

FCCGF chairman Shankar Bidaisee, in a response to a WhatsApp message from Newsday on November 11, said he had forwarded the screenshot of the post to management to review.

Acting CEO Jason Julien said, in response to a WhatsApp message from Newsday on November 11, said,

“We don’t have a comment on the matter raised at this time, but please be assured that the Group remains focused on executing our strategy and creating sustainable value for all our stakeholders.”