RBC shutting down Caribbean wealth management arm
(CNS Business): The Royal Bank of Canada is pulling out of the wealth management business in the Caribbean, a decision that will impact Cayman jobs though the number of workers that will be hit has not yet been confirmed. This is the second Canadian bank with branches in the Cayman Islands that appears to be cutting its losses in the region after Scotiabank confirmed the closure of 35 branches in the Caribbean, with a potential loss of over 500 jobs.
A spokesperson from Royal Bank’s Canadian HQ told CNS via email that the decision by that bank would not impact retail operations here but that RBC Wealth Management is “realigning†businesses within its international operations.
“As a result, RBC Wealth Management will be exiting our Wealth Management – International business in the Caribbean,†said Claire Holland. She explained that certain international advisory groups based in Canada and the US would also be closed down, along with a strategic review of the banks business in Switzerland.
“While regrettably there will be some job losses, it would be premature at this stage to estimate the number of employees that will be impacted as we are currently considering a number of strategic options for these businesses,†Holland said.
The changes are described as being “part of a focused strategy†to enable the bank to achieve sustainable, controlled growth in its priority markets.
In June RBC sold its Jamaican operations at a loss. Nevertheless, that the bank had a profit of nearly $2.4 billion in the quarter ending July 31, including a record $285 million at Wealth Management, up 22 per cent from a year earlier. The closures are coming regardless.
The news comes less than two weeks after Scotiabank’s announcement that it was closing branches and downsizing across this region. No indication has yet been given about the three Cayman branches of that bank or how many jobs will go there.
Financial experts are pointing to the fact that all the Canadian banks with Caribbean operations have struggled and have not recovered from the drop in tourism after the financial crisis.
Category: Finance, Financial Services
And the writing is on the wall……FATCA’s casualties begin….