Butterfield Completes Sale of Barbados Subsidiary
The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited has completed the sale of its wholly-owned Barbados subsidiary, Butterfield Bank (Barbados) Limited, to Trinidad and Tobago-based First Citizens Bank Limited.
Butterfield announced in May 2012 that it had reached an agreement for the sale of its Barbados business to First Citizens, pending regulatory approval. Final regulatory approval was received 16 August 2012.
Butterfield received gross proceeds of US $45 million for the sale of the business, which will generate a gain of approximately $7 million before normal adjustments. Details regarding the net gain from the transaction will be disclosed in Butterfield’s third quarter 2012 financial results.
Butterfield Bank (Barbados) Limited was established in 2003 upon the acquisition by Butterfield of the Barbados assets of the Mutual Bank of the Caribbean, Inc.; at the time a subsidiary of The Barbados Mutual Life Assurance Society. It had assets of B$ 617 million (US$ 308 million) and customer deposits of B$ 540 million (US$ 270 million) at 31 December 2011.
First Citizens’ acquisition of Butterfield Bank (Barbados) Limited represents the first acquisitive expansion of its full service banking business outside of its home market of Trinidad and Tobago.
Bradford Kopp, Butterfield’s President & Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are pleased that we received all regulatory approvals and were able to conclude the sale of our Barbados business to First Citizens in the third quarter as planned. With this transaction completed, Butterfield’s management team continues to focus on strengthening our core businesses—community banking in Bermuda and Cayman and international wealth management services—to restore Shareholder value.”
Mr. Kopp continued, “We have worked closely with the First Citizens team to enable a seamless transition of services for our former customers in Barbados, and we are confident that they will continue to be well served.”
Mr. Larry Nath, First Citizens Ag. Group Chief Executive Officer, said, “We, at First Citizens, are very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for us. We thank the leadership of Butterfield Bank (Barbados) for working with us to ensure a seamless transition. We are confident that we have an incredible group of people with unmatched experience in both organisations who will support our aim to remain one of the safest, soundest and most stable Banks in the region.”
