Another senior, long-standing international banking brand is
abandoning Antigua.
This time it is the Bank of Nova Scotia, operating as
Scotiabank, that has chosen to recognise the significance of risk
versus reward by its newly publicised de-banking and de-risking
decision.
Scotiabank has announced its intention to sell its operations in
nine Caribbean countries, subject to regulatory approval, including
Antigua & Barbuda, to Republic Financial Services Ltd., a
Trinidad & Tobago financial services provider.
Notably, this is a further Canadian Institution that is
re-positioning itself within a climate of anti-money laundering
currently strengthening in mainland Canada.
Meanwhile, Antigua's Prime Minister Gaston Browne has
expressed his shock at Scotiabank's decision and has told the
institution that it will require both local regulatory and his
Government's approval to sell its Antiguan subsidiary.
Furthermore, any such approval would be conditional on the
