Republic Bank
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Republic Bank is a leading bank in Trinidad and Tobago and one of the largest in the Eastern Caribbean. It has branches in Grenada, Guyana, Barbados, the Dominican Republic and offshore banking operations incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Formerly a division of Barclays Bank in Trinidad and Tobago, Republic Bank offers a full range of financial services.
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[edit] History
The forerunner of Republic Bank, Colonial Bank was established on May 15, 1837 by Royal Charter[1]. John Irving MP was the first chairman. (Ref: The Book of the Irvings by Colonel J.B.Irving 1908) Colonial Bank was reported to have a "virtual monopoly" on banking in nineteenth century Trinidad.[2] In 1909 Colonial Bank established a branch on High Street, San Fernando in 1909.[2] On May 6 1926 Colonial Bank was acquired by Barclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas)[2]. On April 1, 1972 it became Barclays Bank International Limited[1]. In the 1970s, with pressure for local control of the banking industry, Barclays Bank began a process of divestment of shares, resulting in the formation of Barclays Bank of Trinidad and Tobago Limited[3] By 1977 majority shareholding was in the company was in national hands[3]. This prompted another name change, to Republic Bank Limited on April 1, 1981.[1]
[edit] History
- 1837 The Colonial Bank (est. 1836) establishes itself in Trinidad and Tobago.
- 1925 The Colonial Bank merges with the Anglo-Egyptian Bank (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.
- 1939 As a result of the labor disturbances and the announcement that Britain was at war with Germany, the bank experiences a run.
- 1963 Barclays Bank acquires Bank of Trinidad, established in 1959.
- 1972 The local operation changes its name to Barclays Bank Trinidad and Tobago.
- 1977 Barclays Bank Trinidad and Tobago sells the majority of its shares locally.
- 1981 The bank's name becomes Republic Bank Limited (RB).
- 1989 Barclays sells its 41% holding to Colonial Life Insurance Co. (Trinidad). Colonial Life builds up its holding to 46.7% and later reduces it to 34%.
- 1992 RB and Grupo Acedo-Mendoza establish Acedo-Mendoza Fincor C.A., a confirming house with offices in Venezuela and Colombia as well as Trinidad. RB establishes Republic Bank Trinidad and Tobago (Cayman) Limited, a wholly-owned offshore bank. RB purchases 51% of the National Commercial Bank of Grenada Limited, a commercial banking operation with eight branches on the islands of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. The three publicly-owned OECS indigenous banks acquire 39% and the government retains 10%. The government had founded NCB of Grenada 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 purchases 23% of Bank of Commerce Trinidad and Tobago Limited. RB purchases 20% of Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (West Indies) Holdings Limited. This gives RB linkages with the holding company's branches in the Caribbean islands of Barbados, St. Vincent, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia and Jamaica. The shareholding is currently 14%.
- 1996 RB buys another 31.14% of Bank of Commerce, taking shareownership up to 51.14%, making Bank of Commerce a subsidiary of Republic Bank.
- 1997 The purchase of approximately 10.9 million shares gives RB a total of 95.3% of Bank of Commerce. RB acquires of 47.5% of shares of the National Bank of Industry and Commerce (NBIC) from the government of Guyana. National Bank of Industry and Commerce Guyana took over the operations of Royal Bank of Canada, 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 began operations in 1837. A truce ends 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 establishes Republic Bank (Barbados) Ltd as an offshore bank to complement the operations of its Cayman Islands subsidiary.
- 2003 RB acquires a 57% interest in the Barbados National Bank Inc. RB acquires 93% of the failed Banco Mercantil (est. 1984), the sixth largest bank in the Dominican Republic.
[edit] Subsidiaries
In addition to its main banking operations in Trinidad and Tobago, Republic Bank has the following subsidiaries[4]
- 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
- Securicor 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
[edit] Largest competitors
- Citibank
- FirstCaribbean International Bank
- National Commercial Bank of Jamaica
- Scotiabank
- RBTT
- Royal Bank of Canada
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Republic Bank Limited financial statement to the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange, December, 2003
- ^ a b c Anthony, Michael (2001). Historical Dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago. Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, Md., and London. ISBN 0-8108-3173-2.
- ^ a b History of Republic Bank, Republic Bank website.
- ^ Subsidiaries, Republic Bank website.
Executive Organisational Chart 2008
<img src="http://www.republictt.com/images/rbl_org_chart/company%20org%20chart_r1_c1.jpg" alt="Gregory L. Thomson"> <img src="http://www.republictt.com/images/rbl_org_chart/company%20org%20chart_r2_c1.jpg">
<img src="http://www.republictt.com/images/rbl_org_chart/company%20org%20chart_r1_c2.jpg" alt="Nigel M. Baptiste" > <img src="http://www.republictt.com/images/rbl_org_chart/company%20org%20chart_r2_c2.jpg">
<img src="http://www.republictt.com/images/rbl_org_chart/company%20org%20chart_r1_c3.jpg" alt="Karen Yip Chuck"> <img src="http://www.republictt.com/images/rbl_org_chart/company%20org%20chart_r2_c3.jpg">
[edit] External links
- Republic Bank website.
- Colonial Bank Correspondence 1837-1885, University of the West Indies library.
