PHILIPSBURG–Scotiabank operations in St. Maarten are said to be amongst the bank’s operations in nine Caribbean countries that are expected to be sold to Republic Financial Holdings, which is based in Trinidad and Tobago.
Scotia has two branches in St. Maarten: one in Philipsburg and one in Simpson Bay. The ramifications of the sale on the local operations and its effects on workers could not be ascertained on Tuesday.
Scotiabank St. Maarten did not respond to several questions on the matter posed by The Daily Herald on Tuesday. St. Maarten Country Manager Garfield White referred the newspaper’s questions to the bank’s Business Lead and Media Spokesperson, and Prime Minister Leona Romeo-Marlin did not respond to queries on the matter last night.
In addition to St. Maarten, the bank’s operations in Dominica, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Guyana are said to be earmarked for sale.
The move is part of the bank’s strategy to narrow the number of international markets in which it does business.
According to a Reuters news report, the bank announced on Tuesday its plans to exit nine countries in the Caribbean by selling its operations to Republic Financial Holdings. It also plans to sell its insurance operations in Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago to Sagicor Financial.
The bank has been selling non-core businesses and focusing its international operations on the Pacific Alliance trading bloc of Peru, Mexico, Chile and Colombia, which now accounts for around a quarter of its revenue. The transactions are not material to Scotiabank, it said, but will result in its core tier 1 capital ratio, a key measure of its financial strength, increasing by 10 basis points.
At least one Caribbean territory has reacted strongly to the Scotiabank exit plans. A media release from Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minster Gaston Browne said the Bank of Nova Scotia was stopped from proceeding with any sale of its operations in that country until application is made to its Government and approval given. Browne also wants assurances that local banks will be given priority to purchase Scotiabank’s operations in Antigua, and that local persons’ investments and savings will be protected.
In a letter to Scotiabank’s General Manager in Antigua, Suzan Snaggs-Wilson, Browne said, “I hereby inform the authorities of the Bank of Nova Scotia that their decision to sell the operations in Antigua and Barbuda, without the requisite consultation and agreement of the regulators and the Government of Antigua and Barbuda, is unacceptable.”
In the meantime, according to Reuters, Bank of Nova Scotia is optimistic of beating its growth targets next year, Chief Executive Brian Porter said after the bank posted fourth-quarter results which were marginally below forecasts.
Scotiabank, Canada’s third-biggest lender, reported adjusted earnings per share of C$1.77 in the quarter ended October 31, up 8 per cent, but short of the average analyst forecast of C$1.79 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Analysts blamed the miss on cost related to recent acquisitions.
Speaking to analysts on a conference call, Porter said he expected the bank to benefit from improved margins next year due to rising interest rates and a strong economic backdrop in its key markets, Reuters reported.
“We are optimistic that we will continue to perform strongly and, again, exceed our medium-term objectives,” Porter was quoted as saying.
The bank has targeted annual earnings growth of seven per cent or more in Canada next year and nine per cent from its international operations, stripping out currency movements.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/83076-st-maarten-one-of-scotiabank-operations-in-nine-caribbean-countries-being-sold
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