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NASSAU, BAHAMAS, January 24, 2005 ? Colina Insurance Company Ltd., and Desjardins Financial Security, the parent company of Imperial Life, on January 19th completed the transaction to transfer ownership of Imperial Life to Colina.

Expressing his best wishes on behalf of Desjardins, Mr. Richard Fortier, Senior Vice President, Finance and Actuarial, said that the company is pleased to transfer ownership of Imperial to an entity such as Colina. ?Imperial Life has been a member of the Bahamian community for 106 years and our legacy is one that we are extremely proud of,? said Mr. Fortier.

Mr. Fortier also said that it was Desjardins? view that Colina Insurance Company represents the very best choice to strengthen and grow that legacy for generations to come. ?It is with great pride that we are transferring more than a century of business in this community to a Bahamian institution of this caliber, and we wish Colina every success.?

President of Colina Insurance Company, Mr. James Campbell, expressed his desire to begin the integration of the two companies and move closer to realizing Colina?s corporate vision of establishing itself as the premier insurance company of The Bahamas and positioning itself to compete internationally.

Noting that the employees of Colina and Imperial Life have persevered through a year fraught with uncertainty, in a company-wide meeting, both Desjardins and Colina executives complimented the workforce on the professionalism and loyalty displayed throughout the protracted approval process.

Mr. Campbell further stated that ?Their determination to maintain their commitment to our policyholders bodes well for the future of the combined Colina/Imperial Life entity and for all of the clients that both companies serve with such dedication.?

Commenting on the next steps for the transaction, Mr. Campbell said that the focus will be on people. ?As in the past mergers handled by Colina, the crucial issue towards creating a smooth transition will be in fostering an atmosphere of openness and appointing staff from both Imperial Life and Colina to serve on integration teams,? said Mr. Campbell. ?Our customer satisfaction levels and employee feedback both point towards the wisdom of this approach.?

Colina?s principals and Desjardins first announced the proposed acquisition of Imperial Life in a joint statement issued in November 2003. In December 2004, the Bahamas Government completed their analysis of the application to acquire Imperial Life and issued the official approval for the transaction on December 31st, 2004.

Colina Insurance Company Ltd. Is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Colina Holdings Bahamas Limited, which is in turn, owned by more than 2,600 Bahamian shareholders and the Colina Financial Group.

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