Royal Bank of Canada is to acquire Trinidad and Tobago-based RBTT Financial Group’s Caribbean retail banking operations and merge it with its own. The total purchase price is TT$13.8 billion (approximately $2.2 billion).

The deal, expected to close by the middle of 2008, will create one of the most expansive banking networks in the Caribbean, with a presence in 18 countries and territories. The combined operations will have 130 branches across the region, with more than 6,900 employees serving more than 1.6 million clients. RBC’s expanded Caribbean retail banking operations will ultimately be headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago.

Peter Armenio, RBC’s head of US and international banking, said: “This is a transformational acquisition for RBC in the Caribbean, one that extends our reach into many important markets, notably Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and the Dutch Caribbean. RBTT is a perfect complement to RBC’s current footprint. We both share a history of serving customers throughout the Caribbean and have almost no overlap of our respective branch networks.”