RBC Agrees to Sell All Its Eastern Caribbean Banking Operations

(Bloomberg) -- Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest lender by assets, agreed to sell all of its banking operations in the Eastern Caribbean, following its Canadian rivals in scaling back in the region.

The lender is selling branches in Antigua, Dominica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as regional businesses in Nevis, Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to a consortium of five financial firms that includes Saint Lucia’s 1st National Bank and Antigua Commercial Bank. Terms weren’t disclosed.

“Earlier this year, we were approached by a consortium of indigenous banks with their proposal to acquire all RBC Eastern Caribbean operations,” Rob Johnston, head of RBC Caribbean Banking, said in a statement Thursday. “After a review of our operations and strategy, we determined this opportunity was a good decision for the long-term future success of RBC Caribbean.”

The move comes a month after Bank of Nova Scotia sold banking operations in seven Caribbean countries, and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce agreed to sell a 66.7% stake in its CIBC FirstCaribbean unit to a company run by Colombian billionaire Jaime Gilinski.

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.