BancAtlantic Capital, the newly launched New York-based merchant and investment bank backed by Grupo Financiero Atlántida, is set to engage business and financial leaders in Trinidad and Tobago on October 7 as part of a four-country Caribbean outreach initiative.
According to Grupo Financiero Atlántida, the invitation-only event, titled Caribbean Currents, is intended to strengthen its relationships with clients and partners in the region while introducing BancAtlantic Capital and its investment banking capabilities to Caribbean markets.
The Trinidad and Tobago engagement is one of four events planned by the financial group, following engagements in Suriname on October 5 and Guyana on October 6, and preceding an event in Jamaica on October 8.
BancAtlantic’s interest in Trinidad and Tobago comes against a backdrop of growing international attention on the country as an investment destination.
Santander, the global banking group recently named the World’s Best Bank by Euromoney, is also planning a visit to Trinidad and Tobago by November to explore potential investment opportunities, according to Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister Nicholas Morris.
Morris said Santander’s interest was sparked at a recent Trinidad and Tobago Investment and Networking Reception hosted by Greenberg Traurig LLP at One Vanderbilt in New York, on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Representatives from several major financial and professional-services firms attended the reception, including BNY, Citi, Morgan Stanley, UBS Securities, Oppenheimer & Co, Greylock Capital Management, Hamilton Reserve Bank, Caravanserai Partners, BancAtlantic, CSC Global, Guidepost Solutions, General Holdings Ltd and Manhattan Arrow Inc.
The World Bank Group is also establishing a permanent office in Port of Spain, with the Government saying the arrangement is expected to expand access to financing, technical expertise and private-sector investment.
“Trinidad and Tobago is now ripe and open for investment,” Morris said.
BancAtlantic targets emerging-markets financing
Grupo Financiero Atlántida said it intends to expand its Caribbean business through BancAtlantic, led by co-founder and veteran Wall Street investment banker John Tonelli, the Group’s longtime banker and former Global Head of Debt Capital Markets at Oppenheimer, who brings three decades of experience in Caribbean markets.
“BancAtlantic will focus on providing financing for emerging economies that have long been underserved by global investment banks and historically excluded from the international capital markets. BancAtlantic Capital, backed by the financial strength of Grupo Financiero Atlántida, is distinctly positioned to structure complex financings and provide direct capital support to its clients in the Caribbean,” the release stated.
Grupo Financiero Atlántida has expanded beyond Honduras across the Americas and Europe, entering Spain in 2024. It is now using BancAtlantic to deepen its Caribbean presence and expand its investment banking capabilities in the region. “The expansion of Grupo Financiero Atlántida’s business into the broader Caribbean represents a natural progression of our platform and is consistent with our 113-year history of supporting clients and fostering economic growth,” chairman and CEO Guillermo Bueso Anduray said.
“We recognise that establishing a strong Caribbean presence demands institutional commitment. By leveraging our affiliated commercial banks, insurance companies, and asset managers throughout Central and South America, and with John Tonelli’s leadership and vast experience in the Caribbean, we are uniquely suited to deploy our own capital and provide access to international capital markets for our clients in the region,” he said.
Grupo Financiero Atlántida, a 113-year-old financial group headquartered in Honduras, manages more than US$26 billion in assets through more than 40 companies across the Americas and Europe, with businesses spanning banking, insurance and asset management.
BancAtlantic is a New York-based investment and merchant bank focused on capital markets, advisory services and principal investing in emerging markets.
