Scotiabank Shutters its Operations as Belize Bank Merger is Completed
The acquisition of Scotiabank Belize by Caribbean Investment Holdings Limited, the parent company of Belize Bank, has been completed. This afternoon, a team of workmen took down the iconic Scotiabank sign that hung in front of the building on Albert Street, bringing to an end the commercial operation of the long-established financial institution. The sale and pending merger was first announced in June 2020 after which the Central Bank of Belize conducted a complete review of the purchase agreement between both parties. That contract required a payout of up to thirty point five million U.S. dollars for Scotiabank’s assets which includes shareholder equity of twenty-eight point five million dollars, as well as a premium of one point five million dollars.
Lyndon Guiseppi
Lyndon Guiseppi, Executive Chairman, Belize Bank Ltd. [File: June 22nd, 2020]
“One of the strategic goals of the Belize Bank for quite a while has been to expand our regional operation and to become a regional banking franchise. So it has a number of years now in which we have been looking at acquisitions across the Caribbean. Over the last thirteen months, the opportunity was presented to us when Scotiabank was deciding to leave the jurisdiction and we engaged in discussions with Scotiabank over the past thirteen months. These negotiations were on again, off again negotiations and finally they consummated in us signing a deal on Friday.”
A message sent to customers on the acquisition says that all current Scotia Bank employees will remain with the company and continue to serve customers in Belize.
