Feb 2007 Financial News

Local banks discuss buyout of RBTT assets

Feb 14, 2007

TWO LOCAL banks have held discussions on a possible buyout of assets of the RBTT Group, industry sources said yesterday.

Speaking on the basis of strict anonymity, sources said that both First Citizens Bank and Republic Bank have held discussions, with First Citizens expressing its interest in the acquisition of the RBTT Group's local assets and Republic Bank eyeing RBTT's foreign assets.

Republic Bank's managing director David Dulal-Whiteway neither confirmed nor denied that such discussions have been ongoing or that any such meeting took place between the parties when he was questioned at a press conference yesterday.

He said: "Because we have a Caribbean vision we felt that if there are opportunities to look at assets outside of Trinidad, that we would be interested in it. I'm just saying that we would always have an interest for assets outside of Trinidad.

"Republic's position is that there is need for a strong indigenous Caribbean bank. We think our value proposition lies there and therefore we will look at ways in which we can become this strong indigenous Caribbean bank. To do that, we have to look at opportunities outside of Trinidad because there are areas in the Caribbean in which we do not have a footprint as yet- so we are constantly looking at ways in which we can expand our network throughout the Caribbean."

RBTT has cemented a strong branch presence throughout the Caribbean region and has been expanding its interests through Latin America.

Dulal-Whiteway also said that he didn't think the regulator, the Central Bank, would allow "a strict merger with RBTT, "since merging many of their products would result in a 60 to 90 per cent market share" and "you'll end up in certain areas with something like a monopolistic position".

First Citizens chief executive Larry Howai refused comment, saying that issuing a statement would go against his bank's policy.

Head of RBTT Group corporate communications, Paul Charles, said it was their bank's policy not to comment on market speculation.

Meanwhile, Dulal-Whiteway also said that guidelines for the new Financial Institutions Act stated that directors cannot be on the Board of more than one financial institution.

"The regulator is insisting that you cannot be on the Board of more than one financial institution, in the guidelines of the new Financial Institutions Act. It's saying that you can't really sit on the Board of let's say Clico Investment Bank and also sit on the Board of Republic Bank.

"It's this whole big issue of not having interlocking directorships among financial institutions... I know it's in the guidelines, which the Central Bank has been in discussions with us on," he noted.


Source:
Roxanne Stapleton
rstapleton@trinidadexpress.com
The Trinidad Express
Wednesday 14th February, 2007

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl/article_news?id=161103509