Republic Group donates $5m to TT's covid19 fight

File photo: Nigel Baptiste, Managing Director of  Republic Bank.
File photo: Nigel Baptiste, Managing Director of Republic Bank.

Republic Financial Holdings Ltd will be contributing an estimated US$2 million collectively across all the Caribbean territories in which it operates, to help in the fight against the covid19 pandemic.

Of this total, TT$5 million has been earmarked for TT.

The funding is targeted to help meet critical needs such as buying ventilators, PPE equipment, testing kits, food and supplies for health care workers as well as supporting the all-important social distancing messages, the group said.

In a media statement on Wednesday, the group listed the countries: TT, Grenada, Guyana, Barbados, Ghana, Suriname, Cayman Islands, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, St Maarten, Anguilla and Dominica.

President and CEO of the group,Nigel Baptiste said the full extent of the "human tragedy that is unfolding before our eyes is epochal.”

Baptiste said: “While the group is committed to helping our clients survive the economic impact, there is so much more that is needed to be done at the society level.

“No country is immune from this virus and given our preference for open economies, we all must be interested in what happens elsewhere. Management of this virus requires global collective responsibility.”

Baptiste is also the managing director of Republic Bank Ltd.

“While there is no good time for a crisis such as this, it comes at a particularly bad time for the TT economy and for the public purse. There is much that needs to be done and the Government can realistically only afford to finance a fraction of what is needed,” Baptiste said.

“We are hopeful that our contribution will not only assist in reducing the number of cases (critical or otherwise) in Trinidad and Tobago but also inspire generous contributions by others in the corporate community.”

The pledge of the equivalent of US$2 million falls under the bank’s Power to Make a Difference programme. It is being specifically targeted to address some of the key immediate requirements in the fight against covid19.

The release said members of the group have already taken steps to safeguard the wellbeing of their clients and staff while providing essential banking services.

The group, it said, has also reached out to its clients to provide cash flow relief to those affected by the disruption caused by the pandemic.

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"Republic Group donates $5m to TT’s covid19 fight"

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