First Citizens takes over B’dos bank

(Trinidad Express) Regional financial institution Bank of NT Butterfield and Son Ltd yesterday announced it had reached an agreement to sell its Barbados subsidiary, Butterfield Bank (Barbados) Ltd, to State bank First Citizens.

Pending regulatory approval, the sale is expected to be completed in the third quarter of the year with gross proceeds of US$45 million, Butterfield and First Citizens said in a joint statement yesterday.

Butterfield Bank (Barbados) Ltd provides retail, premium and business banking and lending services, merchant services, and credit and debit card services in Barbados.

It employs 114 staff members at its main office in Bridgetown and five additional banking centres across the island.

The bank had assets of US$308 million and customer deposits of US$270 million at December 31, 2011.

First Citizens’ acquisition of Butterfield bank (Barbados) represents the first acquisitive expansion of its full service banking business outside Trinidad and Tobago, the statement said.

The company currently offers investment services in Barbados, St Vincent and St Lucia through a subsidiary and has assets of almost US$5 billion and equity of over US$800 million.