- Republic Bank
Republic Bank is a leading bank in
Trinidad and Tobago and one of the largest in the Eastern Caribbean. It has branches inGrenada ,Guyana ,Barbados , theDominican Republic andoffshore bank ing operations incorporated in theCayman Islands . Formerly a division ofBarclays Bank in Trinidad and Tobago, Republic Bank offers a full range of financial services.History
The forerunner of Republic Bank, "Colonial Bank" was established on
May 15 , 1837 by Royal Charter [http://www.stockex.co.tt/stockex/downloads/profiles/Republic%20Bank%20Limited.pdf Republic Bank Limited financial statement] to theTrinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange , December, 2003] . 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 "virtualmonopoly " on banking in nineteenth century Trinidad.cite book | author=Anthony, Michael | title=Historical Dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago | publisher=Scarecrow Press, Inc. Lanham, Md., and London | year=2001 |id=ISBN 0-8108-3173-2]In 1909 Colonial Bank established a branch on High Street, San Fernando.
*1925 The Colonial Bank merges with the
Anglo-Egyptian Bank (est. 1864) and theNational Bank of South Africa (est. 1891) to formBarclays Bank (Dominion, Colonial and Overseas) . Barclays had inherited the ownership of The Colonial Bank when it acquired theLondon Provincial and South Western Bank in 1918. OnMay 6 1926, Colonial Bank changes its name toBarclays 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 experiences a run.
*1963 Barclays Bank acquires Bank of Trinidad, established in 1959.On
April 1 , 1972 it became 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. [http://www.republictt.com/1asp/corporate.asp?f=corp_history History of Republic Bank] , Republic Bank website.] In 1977, Barclays Bank Trinidad and Tobago sold the majority of its shares locally.. This prompted another name change, to Republic Bank Limited onApril 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 inVenezuela andColombia 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 ofGrenada ,Carriacou andPetite 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 ofBarbados ,St. Vincent ,Antigua andBarbuda ,St. Lucia andJamaica . 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 ofGuyana . National Bank of Industry and Commerce Guyana took over the operations ofRoyal 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 theBritish 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 itsCayman Islands subsidiary.
*2003 RB acquires a 57% interest in theBarbados National Bank Inc. RB acquires 93% of the failed Banco Mercantil (est. 1984), the sixth largest bank in theDominican Republic .ubsidiaries
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