Republic Bank pushes bid for Cayman National

| 18/09/2018 | 45 Comments
Cayman News Service

Cayman National

(CNS): Republic Bank TT (Barbados) Ltd (RBTTBL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Republic Financial Holdings Ltd (RFHL), has signed “an implementation agreement” with Cayman National Corporation Ltd in its continued efforts to take over the local financial institution. Shareholders have been offered $6.25 per share from Republic, which is seeking to acquire between 51% and 75% of the bank. Cayman National said in a release that its board “has determined that it is in the interests of Cayman National’s shareholders to continue to engage with RBTTBL” over the offer, which started as an unsolicited proposal earlier this summer.

The partial offer was made on 14 September by way of tender to the Cayman National shareholders and represented a premium of $3.25 cents on the share price when the acquisition was first proposed in August, and $1.25 per share on the local banks share price on 11 September 2018 before the agreement.

RFHL president Nigel Baptiste told the local press in Trinidad that the acquisition would strengthen the presence of the group in the region and was in keeping with the bank’s regional expansion strategy.

“We have had a presence in the Cayman Islands since 2006 — Republic Bank (Cayman) Ltd — and we look forward to building on that relationship as we continue to seek out opportunities for growth in the Cayman Islands, the Caribbean and beyond,” Baptiste said.

Shareholders at CNB have until 22 October to send in forms stating whether or not they are willing to sell shares and how many ahead of a planned general meeting.

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Category: Banking & money, Business, Financial Services

Comments (45)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Bye Bye Jobs

  2. Ex banker says:

    Don’t be surprised if the alot of the shareholders sell, especially staff who are in their 50’s and have been working in the bank for 25 plus years. Reason I say this is that CNBs policy is mandatory retirement at the age of 60yrs. These persons shares are only work $3. And now have a chance to double. Let’s say the have $70ks (most likely more) in shares it doubles immediately. Those retiring soon will end up double dipping, getting the funds for their shares and retirement pay off.

    Now for on the purchasing bank, the only main reason this bank wants to acquire CNB is for the Credit card dept, this bank is the largest in the Caribbean and know the profits CNB makes on the debit and credit cards as well as their merchants.

    Mark my words the bank will sell.

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    • Anonymous says:

      It’s a good thing you’re not an Ex English Grammar teacher.

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      • Ex banker says:

        But I is Caymanian…
        You are so correct, I’m not an English teacher, Mr and Mrs Rum assisted in my writing skills.

    • Anonymous says:

      Stuart Dack is older than 60 and he’s still their CEO, so I’m not sure of any validity in that statement.

    • Anonymous says:

      I believe Scotia makes the most dough from fees. No other bank can compete with Scotia when it comes to charging customers for E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G. no matter the product.

  3. Anonymous says:

    I am wondering how the day to day ops will be affected. If I apply for financing here, will I be told my application is being reviewed in Trinidad? The attraction of CNB for me is that decisions were made here.

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  4. Anonymous says:

    Time to take my overdraft elsewhere.

  5. Anonymous says:

    To quote an elder Caymanian icon: “M’son, the worst is yet to come.”

    Leave the shareholders alone, its their shares, mek them do what they want to do. As long as they dont come asking the Govt (i.e. public money) for help or bailout later on!

  6. Anonymous says:

    it will be easy with the connections to the present government…islands are vunerable…easy to prey on ….

  7. Anonymous says:

    lots of locals here commenting on something they don’t understand.
    just because it has cayman in the name does not mean it is something sacred.

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  8. Bajan bandit says:

    In view of the CNB Board’s recommendation I assume they are fully aware of how RBTTBL intends to finance this proposed acquisition. If it is highly leveraged it will not be in the interests of CNB’s shareholders or it’s customers. What has Republic Bank (Cayman) Ltd been up to in the last 12 years?.

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    • Ron Ebanks says:

      I think that the shareholders of CNB should be very careful with selling any shares , to know what they are selling and to who they selling to , they might have more than they know . I wonder what CNB can do under it’s license , that no other Bank can do under their license today .

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  9. Anonymous says:

    Their sole bragging right against all the other banks, was their ability to make decisions quickly “on island” and now that’s going out the window. I’d imagine the new owners will want to clean house and get rid of the unqualified managers at CNB who hold these posts due to years of service, and not actual qualifications.

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    • Anonymous says:

      4:17 pm you are either a dissatisfied person or someone who just likes to criticize Caymanians eh. Best you be. A king up your claims with evidence before ya get a lot of certified degrees down your aesophagus or elsewhere if it all can’t hold. Ya should take some castor oil before ya hear.

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  10. Anonymous says:

    It would be crazy not to take the money. It’s just a bank. Start a new one if you want.

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    • Anonymous says:

      Why not start their own bank? They already have a presence here. The sale seems a bit fishy? Has government investigate how much departments will be outsourced? The impact of lost revenue to the country due to this outsourcing? Lost of employment?

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      • Anonymous says:

        Trinidad not known for its integrity in business matters.

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      • V says:

        It is all about outsourcing. Look at Scotiabank. To speak to anyone on the phone you get transferred to the DR, Jamaica, or Trinidad.

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  11. Anonymous says:

    greed is driving the world nowadays….exploitation and sin!????????

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  12. Anonymous says:

    Markets like the Cayman Islands, without any consumer protection laws or regulations governing reasonable fees and mortgage repo timelines, must be very tempting and ripe for exploitation. Republic Bank seems particularly keen to target non-performing loan books through its extensive levered acquisitions.

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2018/08/30/calling-the-banks-to-account/

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    • Sarr Castic says:

      You got it, banks are just lining up to lend money to people who don’t pay it back as agreed, always looking for places where it is easier to get some but not all of the money they lent back. They are licking their lips right now, ready to add up those ATM fees instead – CHA-CHING!

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  13. Anonymous says:

    In the interest of the shareholders? What about the interest of the account holders ?

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    • Anonymous says:

      Account holders are under the wider umbrella of “stakeholders”. Big businesses these days usually operate on one of these principles: the profit motive, or the concept of enlightened shareholder value. In the first, account holders are just money machines. The business does whatever it can to part account holders from as much of their money as they possibly can, as quickly and as often as possible, to maximise profit for the shareholders. Banks are in an easy position to do this because we literally give them our money in exchange for their promise to give us money when we ask for it. In the second, maximum shareholder value is achieved through long-term strategies and decisions that take into account the interests of all of the stakeholders, of which the biggest is the community the business serves. The second appreciates that, for example, it is not in the interests of shareholders to cause a mass exodus of account holders, reducing the income of the business. But even this enlightened approach breaks down when a business offers twice the share price to get a majority interest, because twice the value of your shares is exactly the kind of money you want to make from investing in a business anyway and once you sell, the person who bought is the shareholder and its now their interests that matter. So to your question, sadly the answer is: what about them?

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    • Anonymous says:

      The Board of Directors work to protect the interests of the shareholders. You can go open a bank account at another bank if you please. The interests of the account holders are last on the list.

      It’s funny to hear Caymanians now complaining about selling out the bank. How many of you complaining actually own Cayman National Corporation shares? If you want to have a say now you should have been buying the shares up.

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    • Anonymous says:

      it is the account holders that make money for the shareholders

  14. Anonymous says:

    DO. NOT. SELL. OUT. YOUR. COUNTRY.

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    • Anonymous says:

      it’s a private bank. imagine if cnb could not be sold by your logic….their shares would become worthless.

      • Anonymous says:

        A couple individuals reselling their shares to other individuals is a whole different situation than a SINGLE FOREIGN entity wanting majority of controlling shares to themselves !!

  15. Anonymous says:

    If this is a cash offer, stockholders should take it.

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    • Anonymous says:

      And they will. Money is the bottom line for almost everyone these days. I’d take the deal.

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    • Anonymous says:

      What will happen when the account holders close their accounts? I am patiently waiting, meanwhile closing out as much as I can. Think about the overseas transfers.

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      • Fred the Piemaker says:

        Well, if I was a shareholder who sold, I wouldn’t really care what happened to the bank after I cashed out – new owners problem. And why exactly are the account holders going to close out? Because they don’t like dealing with a foreign owed bank? What are they going to do – switch their accounts to Scotia, or Butterfield, or CIBC – other foreign owned banks? makes no sense.

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        • Anonymous says:

          Still got good ole Credit Union.

        • Anonymous says:

          You can only sit back and laugh at some of these comments. Thankfully they are anonymous. Some locals need to educate them selves about the financial industry and how it works. After all it is one of the major industries on this island.

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