RBC buys Trinidad's largest bank

The Royal Bank of Canada says it bought Trinidad's largest bank to create one of the biggest banking networks in the Caribbean.

RBC's director of international banking and insurance says the $2.2 billion purchase of RBTT Financial Group means RBC now has $14 billion in assets. Jim Westlake says the bank has a network of 130 branches across the Caribbean and about 7,000 employees serving 1.6 million clients.

RBTT shareholders will receive a combination of 60 percent cash and 40 percent in Royal Bank shares.

Westlake said in a statement issued late Monday that RBC's Caribbean retail banking operations will eventually be headquartered in Trinidad and Tobago.