Republic Bank
Encyclopedia
Republic Bank is a leading bank and financial service provider in Trinidad and Tobago
and one of the largest in the Eastern Caribbean. It has branches in Grenada
, Guyana
, Barbados
, and offshore bank
ing operations incorporated in the Cayman Islands
. Formerly a division of Barclays Bank in Trinidad and Tobago,
" on banking in nineteenth century Trinidad.
In 1909 The Colonial Bank established a branch on High Street, San Fernando
.
On April 1, 1972, Barclays DCO became Barclays Bank International Limited. The local operation changed its name to Barclays Bank Trinidad and Tobago.
In the 1970s, with pressure for local control of the banking industry, Barclays Bank began a process of divestment
of shares. In 1977 Barclays Bank Trinidad and Tobago sold the majority of its shares locally.. This prompted another name change, to Republic Bank Limited, on April 1, 1981.
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
and one of the largest in the Eastern Caribbean. It has branches in Grenada
Grenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
, Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
, Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, and offshore bank
Offshore bank
An offshore bank is a bank located outside the country of residence of the depositor, typically in a low tax jurisdiction that provides financial and legal advantages. These advantages typically include:...
ing operations incorporated in the Cayman Islands
Cayman Islands
The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
. Formerly a division of Barclays Bank in Trinidad and Tobago,
History
The forerunner of Republic Bank, Colonial Bank was established on May 15, 1837 by Royal Charter. John Irving MP was the first chairman. Colonial Bank was reported to have a "virtual monopolyMonopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
" on banking in nineteenth century Trinidad.
In 1909 The Colonial Bank established a branch on High Street, San Fernando
San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
The City of San Fernando with a population of 55,419 according to the 2000 census, is the larger of Trinidad and Tobago's two cities and the second largest municipality after Chaguanas. It occupies 18 km² and is located in the southwestern part of the island of Trinidad...
.
- 1925 The Colonial Bank merged with the Anglo-Egyptian BankAnglo-Egyptian BankThe Anglo-Egyptian Bank was a British overseas bank established in 1864. The founding banks were Agra and Masterman's Bank and the General Credit and Finance Co., and the bank incorporated Pastré Frères et Compagnie and Giovanni Sinadino and Co., which was the only one of the four to have its seat...
(est. 1864) and the National Bank of South Africa (est. 1891) to form Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas). Barclays had inherited the ownership of The Colonial Bank when it acquired the London Provincial and South Western Bank in 1918. On May 6 1926, The Colonial Bank changed its name to Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas).
- 1939 As a result of the labor disturbances and the announcement that Britain was at war with Germany, the bank experienced a run.
- 1963 Barclays Bank acquired Bank of Trinidad, established in 1959.
On April 1, 1972, Barclays DCO became Barclays Bank International Limited. The local operation changed its name to Barclays Bank Trinidad and Tobago.
In the 1970s, with pressure for local control of the banking industry, Barclays Bank began a process of divestment
Divestment
In finance and economics, divestment or divestiture is the reduction of some kind of asset for either financial or ethical objectives or sale of an existing business by a firm...
of shares. In 1977 Barclays Bank Trinidad and Tobago sold the majority of its shares locally.. This prompted another name change, to Republic Bank Limited, on April 1, 1981.
- 1989 Barclays sold its 41% holding to Colonial Life Insurance Co. (Trinidad). Colonial Life built up its holding to 46.7% and later reduced it to 34%.
- 1992 RB and Grupo Acedo-Mendoza established Acedo-Mendoza Fincor C.A., a confirming house with offices in VenezuelaVenezuelaVenezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
and ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
as well as Trinidad.
- RB established Republic Bank Trinidad and Tobago (Cayman) Limited, a wholly owned offshore bank.
- RB purchased 51% of the National Commercial Bank of Grenada Limited, a commercial banking operation with eight branches on the islands of GrenadaGrenadaGrenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. The government had founded the bank in 1979. In 1980, the bank acquired the shares of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (Grenada) and also purchased the assets of Royal Bank of Canada (Grenville).- 1994 RB purchased 23% of Bank of Commerce Trinidad and Tobago Limited.
- RB purchased 20% of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (West Indies) Holdings Limited. This gave RB linkages with the holding company's branches in the Caribbean islands of BarbadosBarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
, St. VincentSaint Vincent (island)Saint Vincent is a volcanic island in the Caribbean. It is the largest island of the chain called Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is located in the Caribbean Sea, between Saint Lucia and Grenada. It is composed of partially submerged volcanic mountains...
, AntiguaAntiguaAntigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
and BarbudaBarbudaBarbuda is an island in the Eastern Caribbean, and forms part of the state of Antigua and Barbuda. It has a population of about 1,500, most of whom live in the town of Codrington.-Location:...
, St. Lucia and JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. The shareholding is currently 14%.- 1996 RB bought another 31.14% of Bank of Commerce, taking its ownership up to 51.14%, making Bank of Commerce a subsidiary of Republic Bank.
- 1997 The purchase of approximately 10.9 million shares gave RB a total of 95.3% of Bank of Commerce.
- RB acquired 47.5% of shares of the National Bank of Industry and Commerce (NBIC) from the government of GuyanaGuyanaGuyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
. National Bank of Industry and Commerce took over the operations of Royal Bank of CanadaRoyal Bank of CanadaThe Royal Bank of Canada or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto,...
, which left Guyana in 1984 when the government acquired 51% of the capital. In 1914 Royal Bank of Canada had acquired the activities of the British Guiana Bank, which had been incorporated in 1836 and had begun operations in 1837. - A truce ended an eight-year battle for control of RB with Colonial Life. (RB is an Indian-managed bank and so the conflict has had ethnic aspects.)
- 1999 RB established Republic Bank (Barbados) as an offshore bank to complement the operations of its Cayman IslandsCayman IslandsThe Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...
subsidiary. - 2003 RB acquired a 57% interest in the Barbados National Bank in BarbadosBarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
.
- 1999 RB established Republic Bank (Barbados) as an offshore bank to complement the operations of its Cayman Islands
- RB acquired 93% of the failed Banco Mercantil (est. 1984), the sixth largest bank in the Dominican RepublicDominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. It has since rebranded Banco Mercantil as Republic Bank (D.R.) S.A. This was the first of Republic Bank’s overseas subsidiaries to fully adopt the Republic Bank corporate identity.- 2006 RB rebranded NBIC as Republic Bank (Guyana).
Subsidiaries
In addition to its main banking operations in Trinidad and Tobago, Republic Bank has the following subsidiaries- Republic Finance and Merchant Bank Limited (FINCOR)
- Republic Bank (Grenada) Limited
- Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited
- Republic Bank Trinidad & Tobago (Cayman) Limited
- Republic Bank Trinidad & Tobago (Barbados) Limited
- London Street Project Company Limited
- Barbados National Bank Inc.
- Republic Bank (DR) S.A.
- Infolink Services Limited
- SecuricorSecuricorSecuricor plc was one of the United Kingdom's largest security businesses. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but merged with Group 4 Falck in 2004.-History:...
Trinidad Limited (now Group 4 Securicor Trinidad Limited after the worldwide merger of the operations of Securicor and Group 4 Falck in July 2004) - The Home Mortgage Bank
- Republic Securities Limited
Largest competitors
- CitibankCitibankCitibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...
- FirstCaribbean International BankFirstCaribbean International BankCIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank , is a publicly held Caribbean financial services company based in Barbados. Formed in 2002 as a merge the Caribbean operations of Barclays Bank PLC and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce , in March 2006 both CIBC and Barclays announced that Barclays wished...
- National Commercial Bank of Jamaica
- ScotiabankScotiabankThe Bank of Nova Scotia , commonly known as Scotiabank , is the third largest bank in Canada by deposits and market capitalization. It serves some 18.6 million customers in more than 50 countries around the world and offers a broad range of products and services including personal, commercial,...
- RBTT
- Royal Bank of CanadaRoyal Bank of CanadaThe Royal Bank of Canada or RBC Financial Group is the largest financial institution in Canada, as measured by deposits, revenues, and market capitalization. The bank serves seventeen million clients and has 80,100 employees worldwide. The company corporate headquarters are located in Toronto,...
External links
- Republic Bank website.
- Colonial Bank Correspondence 1837-1885, University of the West IndiesUniversity of the West IndiesThe University of the West Indies , is an autonomous regional institution supported by and serving 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica,...
library.