Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) has reached an agreement to divest RBC Royal Bank (Jamaica) and RBTT Securities Jamaica (collectively "RBC Jamaica") to Sagicor Group Jamaica.
RBC Caribbean CEO Suresh Sookoo said that the bank strategy of being a competitive leader in the markets, it determined that the best decision for the long-term future success of RBC Jamaica was to sell it to Sagicor.
"Sagicor is a well established financial franchise in Jamaica with the size, scale and complementary capabilities that RBC Jamaica does not currently possess," Sookoo added.
RBC personal & commercial banking group head Dave McKay said, "This transaction will allow us to successfully reposition our Caribbean business for the future and focus on regions where we have significant market share."
The transaction, whose financial terms remained undisclosed, is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and is likely to be finalized in the coming months.
The purchase price for RBC Jamaica was roughly the book value of the assets and the Canadian lender expects to lose C$60m ($54m) from the transaction, partly because of a goodwill writedown.
With approximately 79,000 employees, RBC serves over 15 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the US and 44 other nations across the globe.
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Image: RBC headquarters in Montreal, Quebec. Photo courtesy of Ancien et modern.