Despite a decision made by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) to sell its Jamaican banking operations, the bank said it has "no plans to divest any other assets in the Caribbean" and is committed to growing its Bahamian operations.
In a statement released by the bank late yesterday in response to news of the sale of RBC Jamaica, RBC said: "The sale of our Jamaica operations is an important step in allowing us to focus our efforts and business on the Caribbean markets in which we can lead and operate on a sustainable basis.
"In The Bahamas, we have a leading full service franchise, which includes deep, long-term client relationships, strong business performance and highly committed, effective employees.
"We are committed to growing our operations here and in other countries across the region. [But] like other businesses and individuals, RBC is navigating through challenging economic times in The Bahamas and Caribbean."
RBC also announced in a statement that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell RBC Royal Bank (Jamaica) Limited and RBTT Securities Jamaica Limited (collectively "RBC Jamaica") to Sagicor Group Jamaica Limited.
"Consistent with our strategy of being a competitive leader in the markets
where we operate, we determined after a careful and thorough review that the best decision for the long-term future success of RBC Jamaica was to sell it to Sagicor," said Suresh Sookoo, CEO of RBC Caribbean. "Sagicor is a well established financial franchise in Jamaica with the size, scale and complementary capabilities that RBC Jamaica does not currently possess."
"RBC has operated in the Caribbean for over 100 years and remains committed to this region. This transaction will allow us to successfully reposition our Caribbean business for the future and focus on regions where we have significant market share," said Dave McKay, group head, Personal & Commercial Banking, RBC. "We are focused on strengthening our business performance, service and competitiveness in markets where we can be a leading competitor over the long term."
The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and is expected to be finalized in the coming months.
RBC expects the transaction to result in an estimated loss of $60 million Canadian dollars (before and after-tax).
"In the Bahamas, we have a leading full service franchise, which includes deep, long term client relationships, strong business performance and highly committed, effective employees," the statement went on to say.
"We are addressing weak financial performance in some counties and we are focused on strengthening our position in the region for the long term."

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian