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Union Bank of Jamaica About Union Bank Union Bank of Jamaica Limited (UBJ), formerly Citizens Bank Limited, is the island's third largest bank with total assets of $33.85B, a loan portfolio of $1.27B and deposit liabilities of $17.8B as at 31 December 2000. Union
Bank is the result of a merger of the business of four (4) FINSAC
controlled commercial banks and their three (3) allied merchant banks,
all seven of which sought Government intervention when faced with
insolvency. These are:
The merger process began with the consolidation of the businesses and operations of Island Victoria Bank, Eagle Commercial Bank and Workers Savings and Loan Bank, the revised ownership structure of which allowed unilateral action by FINSAC. In order to incorporate Citizens Bank into the process, the Minister of Finance approved a scheme of arrangement and issued a Vesting Order, merging the assets and business of the four banks under the Citizens Bank license, as provided for under the Banking Act. The final step came at Citizens Bank's Annual General Meeting on 29 June 1999, when shareholders voted to change the name of Citizens Bank to Union Bank of Jamaica and authorised the injection of over $2 billion of new capital by Finsac into the bank. As a result of this and previous injections of capital by Finsac, its stake in the bank increased to 99.4% from the 60% stake initially acquired from Life of Jamaica in 1997 as part of the package of financial assistance provided to that entity at the time. Why
the Merger? One of the most compelling reasons for the merger was the need to return the financial sector to a size compatible with that of the economy. Unprecedented growth in the financial sector occurred during the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, resulting in a proliferation of both commercial and merchant banks which was not sustainable. Beyond
this, the merger would facilitate:
Information Technology Conversion Union
Bank of Jamaica was converted to one common platform - Finware (core
retail banking application) in mid-September 1999. The
Information Technology Unit at FINSAC was able to convert 4 different
systems within a nine (9) month period. Based on precedence, a project
of this magnitude would have taken at least twenty-four (24) months to
complete. The
merger of the four (4) banks saw a branch network of forty-one (41)
consolidated into twenty-four (24) branches. Union Bank is represented
island-wide in most major towns. This new network offers:
The Way Forward
RBTT
International Limited (“RBTT”), a member of the RBTT Financial
Group from Trinidad & Tobago, has made an offer to Finsac for the
acquisition of its shareholdings in Union Bank of Jamaica Limited. An
agreement between the parties was signed on 05 March 2001. A mandatory offer as stipulated by Jamaican law has been made to the minority shareholders. This offer expired on 17 April 2001. (Links to the details of the offer are provided below). The acquisition of Finsac’s shareholding by RBTT occurred in March 2001, giving RBTT control of UBJ as at that date. Acceptance Forms
(Some sections of this Report require Adobe Acrobat Reader) Union Bank 2000 Audited Financials
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