The Bank of Nova Scotia was among those Canadian firms who reported damage at branches across the Caribbean in the wake of Hurricane Irma. This branch in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, is among those battered by the passing megastorm.SOCIAL MEDIA/Reuters
Canadian banks with operations in the Caribbean are assessing the damage caused by Hurricane Irma and bracing for more.
Bank of Nova Scotia has the biggest footprint of any Canadian bank in the Caribbean, with roughly 200 branches in 20 countries and a work force of more than 8,500 people. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Royal Bank of Canada also do business on some of the affected islands. All three banks were forced to close branches as a result of the most ferocious hurricane recorded to date in the region.
Late Friday, Irma was tracking toward Florida after devastating parts of the northeast Caribbean, including Saint Martin, Barbuda and the British and U.S. Virgin Islands. Mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders have been put in place for the Florida Keys and parts of the state. As of the late in the afternoon, 21 people had been killed by the storm, a report from Reuters said, with the potential for tens of billions of dollars in damage.
The fearsome storm forced financial institutions in the region to implement their crisis plans. Scotiabank closed 10 branches in affected areas and said some branches sustained physical damage. RBC, which has 68 branches in the Caribbean, said it went into crisis management mode early. But communication lines have been badly damaged, the bank said, so its staff were still piecing together what is happening on the ground.
RBC branches in St. Martin and Saba sustained damage from Irma, a bank spokesperson said, and have remained closed in the interim. The bank is working with the Red Cross in both St. Maarten and Antigua and Barbuda to provide support to the hardest hit areas, the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Jose – another powerful Atlantic storm packing winds up to 240 kilometres per hour – was upgraded to a category 4 hurricane and is expected to reach the region this weekend.
Scotiabank said it is donating $500,000 (U.S.) to assist with rescue and relief efforts in the Caribbean.
Half of the funds will go to the Canadian Red Cross, which is on the ground, and the rest will go to initiatives supporting young people in affected areas.
"The devastation caused in the countries impacted by Hurricane Irma is heartbreaking," said Scotiabank chief executive officer Brian Porter in a release. "We are committed to the region, and will support our customers and employees during these challenging times."
Through its CIBC FirstCaribbean unit, CIBC has more than 2,900 employees who work in 100 branches and offices in 17 islands. A spokeswoman said its operations in Saint Martin, the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla have been affected. More than 100 CIBC employees work in these regions. The bank has closed its offices on the three islands and shut its offices in Florida on Friday.
The bank opened its newest banking centre in Philipsburg, St. Martin, in August, according to its last earnings report.
Toronto-Dominion Bank doesn't have a presence in the Caribbean but it has an extensive branch network in Florida, where the storm is expected to cause major damage in the coming days.
"Based on the severity of current storm forecasts, we are temporarily closing all 150 of our Florida stores through Monday, Sept. 11, 2017," said Matt Doherty, a spokesperson with TD. "We will reopen these stores after we conduct a post-hurricane assessment and determine it is safe for our employees and customers to return."
Further up the east coast, TD's 77 branches in South Carolina and North Carolina will remain open for now during normal business hours.
"We are also preparing all stores in the anticipated [storm] path by providing current information as well as supplies, including sandbags and back-up generators," added Mr. Doherty.
Hurricanes are not the only natural disaster impacting Canadian banks.
Scotiabank was also forced to close four of its branches in southern Mexico after a massive 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck southern coastal parts of the country on Thursday, killing at least 32 people and causing severe localized damage to buildings.
Scotiabank has significant operations in Mexico, with more than 550 branches and an employee base of more than 12,500.