RBC to sell Eastern Caribbean operations to group of regional banks

(Reuters) - Royal Bank of Canada <RY.TO> said on Thursday it would sell its Eastern Caribbean banking business to a group of local banks, making it the latest Canadian lender to shrink its operations in the region.

The bank did not disclose financial terms of the deal, but said the sale included RBC's branches in Antigua, Dominica, Montserrat, St. Lucia and St. Kitts and Nevis.

The deal is expected to be finalised in the coming months and is subject to regulatory approvals, the Canadian lender said.

The group of buyers consists of 1st National Bank of St. Lucia, Antigua Commercial Bank Ltd, National Bank of Dominica Ltd, the Bank of Montserrat and Bank of Nevis Ltd.

RBC's move comes a month after Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) <CM.TO> sold a significant portion of its majority stake in CIBC FirstCaribbean to GNB Financial Group for $797 million..

In September, Bank of Nova Scotia <BNS.TO> said it was in the final stages of closing deals to sell portions of its Caribbean operations.

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(Reporting by Abhishek Manikandan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)