Republic Financial holdings Limited (RFHL*) acquires a majority interest in Cayman National

This transaction comprised the purchase of 74.99% of the issued shares in CNC at an offering price of US$6.25 per share at an overall cost of US$198,474,012.50. As a result of this transaction, the asset base of the RFHL group increased to approx. US$12 billion, making the enlarged group one of the largest and most successful financial institutions in the region.

Established in the Caribbean in 1837 as the Colonial Bank and becoming Barclays Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, the Republic Financial Holdings group of companies had assets as at 30 September 2018 of over US$9.4 billion and equity of US$1.4 billion; together with more than 117 branches and 5,574 staff across the Caribbean and Ghana.

“RFHL and CNC share the same ideals with respect to values, business processes and opportunities,” said RFHL Chairman Ronald F. deC. Harford in a recent press release, “The acquisition of CNC will allow us to combine and leverage the talents of our two world-class organisations. We are particularly eager to learn from Cayman National’s experience in international financial services and serving high net worth clients. We are pleased to welcome both the employees and clients of the CNC Group to the Republic Family.”

This acquisition is part of RFHL’s ongoing strategic expansion. The Group operates in several territories, including Barbados, Cayman Islands, Grenada, Ghana, Guyana, St. Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. The Group’s acquisition of the nine ScotiaBank operations in the Eastern Caribbean, St. Maarten and Guyana is ongoing with that acquisition currently receiving the attention of all the relevant regulatory bodies.

For Cayman National’s Isle of Man businesses the change has been positively welcomed. “We are delighted that Cayman National will now be part of the extended Republic family, whilst still retaining our own unique identity”, said Nigel Gautrey, Managing Director of the Isle of Man operating companies.  “We will continue to provide our local touch to the customers we serve and will now be backed by the resources of a global financial player. This represents a major milestone in the history of Cayman National and is a very favourable step towards securing the growth of our organization for years to come”.  

 *Republic Financial Holdings Limited is a publicly quoted company incorporated in Trinidad and Tobago and regulated by the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago as a financial holding company. To learn more about the Republic Financial Holdings group of companies, or to view a copy of its latest financial statements, please visit https://rfhl.com