yesterday on the Bermuda Stock Exchange at $3.25 each, showing solid support for the bank's rights offer.

Trading of the rights started on Thursday, with the first 5,000 going at $3.50, and that was followed at Friday's trading session with another 1,250 going at the same price.

On Monday, on a volume of 300, the price closed at $3.25, where it remained after yesterday's trading volume of 27,075.

The latest trade followed a rights offering launch luncheon hosted by the bank at the Princess Hotel on Monday afternoon, outlining to potential investors the bid to raise $13,500,000 in capital.

In addition, upon exercise in the future of warrants which are part of the rights offering, and upon exercise of the First Curacao International Bank (FCIB) NV warrants granted to FCIB in its capacity as manager of the bank, the bank will eventually raise an additional $12,187,770 in capital.

It was BCB chairman and FCIB president Mr. John Deuss who six months ago approached the Bank of Bermuda about being the financial advisor to the issue.

BCB's future includes BCB Merrill Lynch Asset Management and there are efforts underway to finalise the details of the shareholders' agreement for the 60/40 joint venture company to provide institutionalised asset management services from Bermuda.

An outline agreement had Merrill Lynch Asset Management (MLAM) Ltd. paying for 50 percent of the cost of the new operation and taking 50 percent of the profits from the venture.

But BCB managing director, Ms Audette Exel, said that was being "hotly negotiated'' at this time.

The new venture will start with equal staffing from the two financial institutions and MLAM's portfolio managers will be operating out of the new business, here. The new company's projected financials are not yet factored into the projections for the performance of the bank.

The bank is considering using its new affiliation with MLAM to establish its own money market fund, although no decisions have yet been made on that possibility.

Ms Exel made the point that being a small bank has its advantages, and the bank seeks to ensure that customers are dealt with on a more personable, qualitative basis.

"In terms of our minimum risk profile, because we are a smaller bank, it's very important that we remain squeaky clean,'' she said. "The collapse of Barings taught us that it doesn't matter how big you are, if you run risks, you can be wiped out in ten days by a bubble gum chewing trader.

"BCB has worked very hard to make sure that the risk weighted capital ratio is as high as it can possibly be, that we don't take positions of risk, and that we are absolutely covered.'' By limiting its lending activities, placing a greater emphasis on the placement of inter-bank deposits, and by the generation of more fee revenues than interest income, the bank has been able to maintain a low risk posture, one of the primary foundations upon which the bank's business strategy has been built.

The bank projects total equity after the new issue will rise from $12,075,628 to $25,575,628 and the risk weighted capital ratio will rise from an already ultra conservative 16.9 percent to 35 percent.

Trust business has been de-emphasised, as corporate management business has increased substantially. Fee driven business is increasing.