Royal Bank of Canada, that country’s largest bank, agreed to buy RBTT Financial Holdings Ltd. in Trinidad and Tobago for about $2.2 billion to more than double its Caribbean branch network.

RBTT shareholders will receive about TT$40 ($6.37) a share, 60 percent of which will be in cash and 40 percent in Royal Bank shares, Toronto-based Royal Bank said today in a statement.

RBTT has $7.5 billion in assets, employs 5,400 and serves 1.3 million clients. Its acquisition will boost Royal Bank’s Caribbean assets to $13.7 billion, spread out across 130 branches and 18 countries.

Royal Bank is trying to catch up with Canadian rivals in the Caribbean. Scotiabank runs more than 200 branches there, and last year the Toronto-based bank spent $56 million to buy Jamaica’s Dehring Bunting & Golding Ltd.

Adding RBTT also may allow Royal Bank expand to Latin America, said Peter Armenio, head of U.S. and international banking for the bank.

The transaction “provides a platform for future expansion beyond the Caribbean, as we start to took at other places around Central and Latin America where we do have other businesses,” Armenio told analysts on a conference call. He didn’t elaborate.

RBTT has Canadian roots. It was incorporated in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1856 and was owned by Royal Bank before the lender sold control in 1986, said Brad Smith, an analyst at Blackmont Capital in Toronto.

“We believe this renewed commitment would signal the emergence of a new, capable market competitor,” Smith wrote in an Oct. 1 note to clients. The proposed transaction was reported by the Trinidad and Tobago Express newspaper on Sept. 30.

The Port of Spain-based bank was ranked first in Trinidad and Tobago for capital adequacy by financial publication The Banker, according to RBTT’s Web site. In April, RBTT said it was considering a possible combination or partnership for its business, according to its Web site.

Royal Bank said its offer is 18 percent more than the closing price of RBTT shares on Sept. 28. Royal Bank shares rose 60 cents to C$56.53 by 4 p.m. in Toronto Stock Exchange trading today. RBTT shares rose 99 cents to TT$35.

The transaction will probably close by mid-2008 and bolster per-share earnings next year, Royal Bank said.

(via Bloomberg)

Other than making changes to the lead banner above that states RBTT’s position as the #1 Caribbean Owned Banking and Financial Services Group we may also see some more development of their online banking presence that we recently profiled.