Barbados, an island of 166 square miles, has six commercial banks in operation, half of them Caribbean owned and the rest are divisions of well established Canadian based institutions.
Each bank has branches across the island, offering a range of typical personal and business services, and a host of ATM machines for added convenience. The banks accept all major international credit cards.
Barbados National Bank (BNB) is the island's oldest local commercial bank. It was established in 1978 by an Act of Parliament and days later acquired the assets of the then local Bank of America branch in Bridgetown.
After some financial turbulence in the 1990s, the company recovered to post a profit of $19.6 M in 2001. Then in March of 2003, government sold a 57 per cent shareholding in BNB to Republic Bank Limited (RBL) of Trinidad and Tobago. Six months later RBL increased its shareholding to 65%.
As of September 2007, the Bridgetown headquartered BNB had recorded a post-tax profit of $51.3 million for the last financial year.
BNB operates nine branches and 20 ATMs and provides all the traditional consumer and business services.
Butterfield Bank (Barbados) Limited is headquartered in the capital, Bridgetown, with three other branches in commercial and suburban areas. Its staff numbers about 125.
The Bermuda based Butterfield Bank Group acquired the Barbados owned Mutual Bank of the Caribbean in December 2003.
The Butterfield Bank of Barbados provides both traditional and offshore services and is one of three local commercial banks with Saturday service.
FirstCaribbean International Bank (FIB) is the result of a 2002 merger of two of the oldest banks in the region, Barclays PLC Caribbean and Canada's CIBC West Indies Holdings, both of which had combined experience of nearly 250 years.
FirstCaribbean has its head office at Warrens, St. Michael. It has nine branches in Barbados and 18 ATMs. Besides Barbados, the merged entity operates in 16 other Caribbean countries, with over 100 branches.
In December 2006, CIBC bought out the Barclays stake and became the primary shareholder in FirstCaribbean, holding 91.5 per cent of the company. At last count FIB had assets of over US$12b.
Canadian owned Scotiabank has been serving Barbados since 1956. Its network comprises eight branches strategically located across the island, plus a string of ATMs. Its main office is on Broad Street, in the heart of Bridgetown.
Scotiabank, which first came to the Caribbean in 1889, when it opened a branch in Jamaica, is one of the three banks in Barbados which offer weekend service. Like its competitors the bank offers the full range of personal and business services.
RBTT Bank Barbados is owned by one of the Caribbean's leading financial groups - RBTT Financial of Trinidad and Tobago. RBTT Financial Holdings Limited acquired the company from Caribbean Commercial Bank Limited in June 2004.
It is one of the smaller players in the Barbados banking sector with head offices in Bridgetown and four branches.
The company's 2007 financial report reflects a record pre-tax profit of $9.1 million. This was a 36% increase over the previous year. Total assets grew by 20% to $593 million, largely due to an increase in the loan book of $110 million.
RBTT Bank Barbados offers a comprehensive range of individual and commercial banking services, including demand deposits; time deposits and regular savings accounts; chequing accounts; trade finance and international money transfer services; commercial and consumer lending including credit cards.
The bank's four branches are strategically located across Barbados with opening hours that include Saturdays.
RBTT Financial Holdings Limited in March 2008 announced that its shareholders have voted in favour of amalgamating RBTT with a Caribbean subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).
Royal Bank of Canada is one of three Canadian owned banks operating in Barbados and has been on the island from as far back as February 1911.
Its network comprises seven branches, a Private Banking Centre and two Lending Centres strategically located across the island. Its other channels include a network of 18 ATMs, Royal Online Banking and Point Of Sale Terminals at a variety of merchants.
Barbados Banking hours are generally:
» Monday - Thursday
» 8:00am - 3.00pm
Fridays
» 8:00am - 5.00pm
Banking services are available on weekends from Butterfield bank, Scotiabank and RBTT Bank.
» Barbados National Bank: T: (246) 431-5905
www.bnbbarbados.com
» Butterfield Bank - T: (246) 431-4500
Butterfield Bank
» FirstCaribbean International Bank:T: (246) 367-2300
www.firstcaribbeanbank.com
» Bank of Nova Scotia - T: (246) 426-7000
www.scotiabank.com/bb
» RBTT Barbados - T: (246) 431-2500
www.rbtt.com
» RBC Royal Bank of Canada - T: (246) 467 4000
www.rbcroyalbank.com/caribbean/barbados
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