nadaleen.singh@guardian.co.tt
Debunking claims by the Sangre Grande Chamber of Commerce that there was no communication with the business community about the closure of its Sangre Grande branch, RBC Royal Bank said yesterday it started communicating with stakeholders on December 30, 2017 about the planned closure.
In emailed responses, the bank stated, "we were unable to reach a mutually acceptable lease renewal for our Sangre Grande location, with the outcome that we needed to relocate our Sangre Grande services by December 31, 2017. As a result RBC made the decision to merge with our Arima location effective January 2, 2018."
"RBC began notifying all clients of this location as soon as it became clear we would not be able to reach an ongoing lease agreement. This began on Friday December 29 with notices and face-to-face conversatons in the Sangre Grande branch and with public service announcements and paid notices in local media that started December 30."
Asked whether the decision to close the Sangre Grande branch was a rash decision, the bank assured it routinely renegotiates and renews its various lease arrangements.
"Unfortunately, although we worked on the process for the past few months, we were unable to reach a mutualy acceptable lease renewal for our Sangre Grande location."
The bank also said there was no other reason for closing its Sangre Grande branch other than it could not renew the lease.
"The decision to merge the Sangre Grande locaton with our Arima Branch was a separate consideration from our innovation focus" the bank said.