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Royal Bank to sell Suriname unit to Trinidad’s Republic Bank, expects C$23 mln loss

Published: 19:50 01 Apr 2015 BST

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Royal Bank of Canada (TSE:RY), the nation’s largest lender by market value, has agreed to sell its Suriname operations to Trinidad and Tobago’s Republic Bank Ltd, as it continues to exit some of its marginal operations in the Caribbean region.

The Toronto-based bank said the sale will allow it to focus on other Caribbean markets where it sees opportunities for growth.

RBC, which did not unveil the financial terms of the deal, said the sale price roughly reflected the book value of its operations in the country located on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America.

RBC said the transaction is not expected to have a material impact on RBC's Basel III Common Equity Tier 1 ratio, but it will result in a loss of C$23 million, largely due to writedowns tied to goodwill and other intangibles.

RBC said the loss will be reflected in its results for the second quarter ending April 30, which are set to be released on May 28.

"As we continue to focus our Caribbean operations on markets in which we can be a leading competitor for the long-term, we have made the decision to sell RBC Suriname to Republic Bank," Kirk Dudtschak, RBC's head of Caribbean banking, said in a statement today.

RBC has shuttered wealth-management offices across Latin America and the Caribbean as growing regulatory pressure to counter money laundering affects the way banks do business around the world.

Last year, RBC agreed to sell its Jamaican operations to Sagicor Group Jamaica Ltd SJ.JS.

Shares fluctuated between gains and losses and were last trading at C$76.18, down 0.1 percent, at 2:24 p.m. in Toronto.

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