Serious interest for take-over of Girobank

March 05, 2010 9:38 AM

There is a large chance that the majority of the shares from the Girobank will change hands. The Venezuelan bank Totalbank, currently with a majority interest in the Girobank, wants to sell the shares.

A group of foreign investors is interested in taking over the shares. Sources within the bank itself, (co-shareholder Apna (General Pension Fund Netherlands Antilles) and the Central Bank, have confirmed this.
It is the intention that Eric Garcia will remain director. However, for the time being, nobody is prepared to give an official statement on the current negotiations.
Unofficial reports on the possible take-over have already been circulating for nearly two months amongst the bank personnel. At the beginning of this week, director Eric Garcia had not wanted to make any comment on the question whether negotiations were being held at all. However, sources with the Girobank confirm the serious plans of a group of presumably Mexican/American investors to acquire a majority interest in the bank.

In a short response, management secretary of the Apna, Royston Sling, states that at this moment he could not confirm or deny the reports. Nevertheless, within the Apna-management, off the record, one confirms current negotiations are being held and one should seriously consider the take-over.
The Central Bank is also informed about the possible take-over, but they cannot make any official statements either and refer to Garcia.
The Girobank had been under legal restraint since December 5th, 2002. As of that moment, the Bank of the Netherlands Antilles (BNA) had complete control of the Bank. At that time, the island government had been the majority shareholder and the General Pension fund Apna had held a minority.
Approximately two years later, the Girobank had become financially sound again with a capital injection of 27 million guilders. Based on the aforementioned, the bank had obtained a banking permit again in 2004.
Eric Garcia, who had previously been the authorized representative on behalf of the BNA, and Victor Gill, who had become main shareholder with his Venezuelan Totalbank, had been appointed as new directors.
The reorganizing of the financial results had already been noticeable in 2005. The profit had increased with nearly 3.4 million in 2004 to more than 7.9 million guilders in 2005.
During the previous years, the Girobank had seriously been in the red with a negative capital and losses amounting to 2 million in 2003, 5.9 million in 2003 (the year in which the Central Bank had intervened and cancelled the banking permit by means of the emergency regulation), and even 8.4 million in 2001.
This trend had continued in 2006, when the bank even spoke of a growth of 59 percent of the profit after deduction of taxes.

(Source: National Newspaper Amigoe)

4 March 2010