The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited has acquired the entire share capital of Leopold Joseph (Bahamas) Limited. This follows the earlier acquisition of the Bahamas-based Thorand Bank & Trust, which since has been renamed Bank of Butterfield (Bahamas) Limited.
Established in 1996, Leopold Joseph (Bahamas) provided offshore trust and company formation and administration services, as well as fund administration and registrar services. Leopold Executives said *"We are pleased that we are well positioned to deliver a highly reputable and valuable business to the Bank of Butterfield, which we thoroughly welcome to The Bahamas."* Leopold has become part of the new Bank of Butterfield (Bahamas) Limited.
Thorand Bank & Trust, established in 1960, provided private banking, trust and other fiduciary services to private and institutional clients. At the time of that acquisition, Graham Brooks, Executive Vice President, International & Trust, Bank of Butterfield said, "This is an important development for Bank of Butterfield. We have acquired a solid base on which to build in a major international private banking and wealth management market." He added that Thorand had an excellent client base and that Bank of Butterfield has been impressed by the company’s enthusiastic and skilled employees.
Bank of Butterfield says the latest acquisition fits very well with its purchase of Thorand Bank & Trust. According to Mr Brooks, both businesses have high quality clients and will form a solid foundation for growth in The Bahamas. *"We anticipate a smooth transition as the operations’ dedicated, capable teams of employees continue to provide high quality services to clients."*
Also acknowledged was the ongoing support and co-operation of The Central Bank of The Bahamas during the negotiations to complete the transactions.
Commenting on the two acquisitions, Mr. Alan Thompson, Bank of Butterfield President and CEO, said, *"The combination of the two Bahamas acquisitions will enable us to establish a strong presence in this well regarded international business jurisdiction. We will focus on the delivery of a range of our core services including private banking, wealth management and investment and pension fund administration."*
Headquartered in Bermuda, Bank of Butterfield has offices in the Cayman Islands, The Bahamas, Barbados, Guernsey and the United Kingdom. It is a publicly traded corporation with its shares listed on the Bermuda and Cayman Islands stock exchanges.