Thursday, June 16 2011

RBC Royal Bank is the start of new beginnings for the region said Suresh Sookoo, chief executive officer, Caribbean Banking, RBC, as he announced the start of formal operations under the RBC banner.

RBC Royal Bank replaces the brand formerly known as RBTT.

The rebranding ceremony took place last week at St Clair Place, Port-of-Spain. Trinidad and Tobago is the home of RBC’s Caribbean head office.

“Today marks a significant milestone for our company as we bring the history and heritage of RBTT and RBC in the Caribbean together for the benefit of our clients,” said Sookoo at the formal unveiling attended by Government ministers such as Minister of Finance Winston Dookeran, Governor of the Central Bank Ewart Williams as well as longstanding personal and business clients.

Sookoo said the rebranding leverages RBC and RBTT’s more-than-100-year heritage in the Caribbean as the bank puts its global and regional strength to work for clients: best-in-class global banking practices and resources with in-depth local knowledge of the region.

In the coming months, RBTT operations across the Caribbean — from Jamaica to the Eastern Caribbean and Barbados, to Curacao and Suriname — will all adopt the new RBC brand. “The rebranding signals our confidence in the future and demonstrates the strength, heritage and stability of RBC to all our stakeholders,” Sookoo said.

As part of the launch event, RBC’s journey in the Caribbean was mirrored in ceremonial drumming, including Canadian Inuit drums, tassa, steelpan and snare, culminating in a dramatic unveiling of the RBC shield, with its signature lion and globe symbol.