Royal Bank of Canada receives the required approvals from local governments and from the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank for the sale of its Eastern Caribbean banking operations. The transaction closed on 1 April.
RBC is selling its Eastern Caribbean banking operations to a consortium of regional banks. The purchasers comprise 1st National Bank of St. Lucia, Antigua Commercial Bank, Bank of Dominica, Bank of Montserrat, and The Bank of Nevis.
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The sale includes RBC’s 11 branches in Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“This transaction will allow RBC to align investments and resources into markets where our vision for being the Caribbean’s digitally-enabled relationship bank can be executed most-successfully,” says Rob Johnston, Head of Caribbean Banking. “The sale of our Eastern Caribbean banking operations to indigenous banks is a critical step forward. It strengthens the domestic financial services sectors in each of the countries and territories involved. This will help create a stronger climate for further growth, development, and prosperity.”
RBC Caribbean: 41 branches, 3,000 employees
Upon closing this transaction, RBC’s Caribbean presence comprises 3,000 employees and 41 branches and offices. Locations include Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands.
In fiscal 2020 the Caribbean experienced challenges in various regions given the impact of the pandemic on the tourism sector. RBC expects challenging conditions to persist, including the likelihood of reduced travel and tourism as well as the impact of a low interest rate environment.
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By GlobalDataRBC’s US & Caribbean unit reported total revenue down by $78m or 8% in fiscal 2020. This was primarily due to lower spreads driven by the impact of lower interest rates, partially offset by average volume growth of 1%.
When the sale was announced last December, Johnston said:” RBC has operated in the Caribbean for more 100 years. That is longer than we have been in many parts of Canada. We remain committed to the future of the Caribbean and to a vision of digital innovation that transcends traditional services.”
