Canadian bank interested in Republic Bank
Published:Thursday | February 12, 2009 | 6:29 PM
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) is seeking a meeting with the Trinidad and Tobago government in a bid to acquire controlling shares in the island\'s biggest commercial bank.
According to reports in the Trinidad Express newspaper, CIBC is seeking to acquire the 55 per cent ownership of Republic Bank that was held by the local conglomerate CL Financial.
CL Financial was recently taken over by the Patrick Manning government after it entered into a multi-billion dollar bailout arrangement with the troubled company earlier this month.
The newspaper further reports that CIBC is one of several international and local financial institutions that are interested in Republic Bank.
The paper quotes a source at the Ministry of Finance as having confirmed that CIBC executives have already made a request for an urgent meeting with the government on the issue.