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Scotiabank officials meet with St. Kitts-Nevis PM

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Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris Wednesday held “cordial and productive discussions’ with officials of the Trinidad-based Republic Financial Holdings Limited (RFHL) and representatives of Scotiabank regarding the move to acquire Scotiabank operations in several Caribbean countries.

Last November, the RFHL announced that it was seeking to acquire Scotiabank operations even as Antigua and Barbuda and Guyana have expressed reservations about the proposed acquisition, with St. John’s indicating that it would not be issuing a vesting order to facilitate the move.

A RFHL statement said that the banks being acquired are located in Guyana, St. Maarten, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

It said that the purchase price is US$123 million, which represents US$25 million consideration for total shareholding of Scotiabank Anguilla Limited; and a premium of US$98 million over net asset value for operations in the remaining eight countries…

The RFHL delegation was led by its chairman, Ronald Harford, while Scotiabank was represented by a two-member team headed by Brendan King, Senior Vice President of International Banking.

A government statement issued following the talks noted that Prime Minister Harris was informed of RFHL’s commitment to welcoming all of Scotiabank’s staff into the Republic Group.  It said this would increase the Group’s staff complement to over 6,000 people.

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“Not one single staff member of Scotiabank will be displaced,” said Ian De Souza, Principal Advisor at Advice Financial Company Limited (AdFIN), adding “they will not be affected in any form or fashion.

“Their remuneration will remain whole,” De Souza added.

Harford said “it is very necessary to protect our reputation.  We will practice those high standards that Scotiabank has practiced.”

He said the acquisition would create “a strong regional champion” with US$15 billion in assets up from US$10.5 billion.  Profits would also increase, post-acquisition, from US$198 million to US$270 million.

“The Republic Group has served the Caribbean for 181 years, having opened its first office in Port of Spain, Trinidad, with the establishment of Colonial Bank in 1837.  It has branches in Grenada and St. Lucia.

The company said it has financed over US$268 million in support of significant nation-building projects across the Caribbean since 2001 including US$7.4 million for the Carifesta Housing Development in St. Kitts in 2005.

“The future of these islands is bright,” Harford said,

King said it was very important to Scotiabank “that our customers and employees be handled with care,” adding that this was important in order to ensure that there “is no disruption of any kind.”

He said the two banks “share the same core values,” and that, “our reputation is very important to us.”

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REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]