The Bank of N.T. Butterfield yesterday announced its buy-out of Bahamas bank Leopold Joseph (Bahamas) Limited in Nassau.

The announcement from Bermuda's oldest bank came days after it announced its first Bahamian acquisition - the purchase of small, private bank Thorand Bank and Trust Ltd. late last month.

The two banks rival each other in size with Thorand tipping the scales at 22 staff compared to Leopold's 16 employees. Thorand also reportedly had between $500 million and $1 billion in assets under management while Leopold reportedly caters to about 400 private clients and has some $500 million in assets.

Butterfield said yesterday that it intended to keep on all staff from both banks. Indeed Graham Brooks, executive vice president of international and trust, told The Royal Gazette that the employees were a selling point for Butterfield's purchase of both Leopold and Thorand.

"With the acquisitions, we have got some very good people - they will make an extremely strong team together," he said.

The bank's Bahamian buy-outs give it a strong foothold on the Caribbean Island and that grip on the Bahamas market will be strengthened with the merger of the two into one, according to Mr. Brooks, who was instrumental in the acquisitions.

He said: "This acquisition fits very well with our purchase of Thorand Bank & Trust, announced on August 25.

"Both businesses have high quality clients and, when merged, will form a solid foundation for growth in the Bahamas.

"We anticipate a smooth transition as the operations' dedicated, capable teams of employees continue to provide high quality services to clients."

Mr. Brooks yesterday confirmed that a process of merging the operations would start immediately, a process that was expected to be completed by the end of the year.

As announced last month, Thorand Bank & Trust will shortly be renamed Bank of Butterfield (Bahamas) Limited while Leopold Joseph (Bahamas) Limited will be renamed Butterfield Trust (Bahamas) Limited until it is merged into the Bank of Butterfield (Bahamas) Limited.

Gaining ground in the Bahamas market only strengthens Butterfield's Caribbean presence with the bank also having offices in the Cayman Islands and Barbados.

Butterfield CEO Alan Thompson said: "The combination of the two Bahamas acquisitions will enable us to establish a strong presence in this well regarded international business jurisdiction. We will focus on the delivery of a range of our core services including private banking, wealth management and investment and pension fund administration."

The bank also announced that Leopold's managing director Ivylyn Cassar was to be appointed to the board of directors of the merged operations and would hold a senior position and report to managing director Robert Lotmore. Meanwhile, Mr. Brooks will serve as board chairman of Bank of Butterfield (Bahamas) Limited and will be joined on that board by fellow Bank of Butterfield executives Wendell Emery, executive vice president, operations and information technology, and Ronald Simmons, senior vice president and chief accountant.

Leopold Joseph (Bahamas) Limited, was established in 1996, and provided offshore trust and company formation and administration services, as well as fund administration and registrar services.