The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) advises that effective 1 April 2021, the Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) operations in Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Montserrat, Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis and Saint Lucia will cease, having been acquired by a consortium of national banks.
The Consortium of banks comprises: Antigua Commercial Bank Limited (ACB), National Bank of Dominica Limited (NBD), Bank of Montserrat Limited (BOM), the Bank of Nevis Limited (BON) and 1st National Bank St Lucia Limited (1st National).
As part of this transaction, the Consortium has also acquired the RBTT Bank Caribbean Limited in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and majority shareholding in RBTT Bank Grenada Limited and RBTT Bank (SKN) Limited.
The ECCB, in consultation with the ECCB Monetary Council approved, on 22 December 2020, the applications for the transfer of the assets and liabilities of RBC to the Consortium in the said member countries, pursuant to Section 43 of the Banking Act, 2015.
Thursday, 1 April was the first day of the transition. Over the Easter weekend, you may witness changes to names on buildings.
As of Tuesday, 6 April, the former RBC branches will no longer operate under the RBC brand, and RBTT Bank (SKN) Limited and RBTT Bank Grenada Limited will be rebranded.
Approval was granted for:
- BON to acquire RBC St Kitts
- ACB to acquire RBC Antigua
- NBD to acquire RBC Dominica
- BOM to acquire RBC Montserrat
- 1st National to acquire RBC Saint Lucia
- ACB to acquire the majority shareholding in RBTT Bank Grenada Limited and that bank will be rebranded ACB Grenada Bank Ltd
- BON to acquire the majority shareholding in RBTT Bank (SKN) Limited and that bank will be rebranded BON Bank Ltd
- The Consortium to acquire RBTT Bank Caribbean Limited in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
The former RBC branches will remain open to the public, but each acquiring bank will make decisions regarding the future of these branches in the coming months.
Pursuant to these approvals, the ECCB issued updated banking licences to the Consortium. The Banking Business Vesting Orders have been signed and gazetted in the aforementioned countries.
The Consortium and RBC are bound by transition services agreements, which facilitate the sharing of services for a 12-month period to ensure a smooth transition post acquisition.
The ECCB is resolute about its mandate to protect the Eastern Caribbean Dollar and will continue to maintain high levels of foreign reserves while protecting the stability of the banking system.
Citizens and residents in ECCB member countries are encouraged to stay abreast of developments in the financial sector.
