Inversiones Atlántida, the holding company of the Honduran lender Grupo Financiero Atlántida, has launched a New York-based investment and merchant bank called BancAtlantic Capital. The company announced that it is holding a series of private events across the Caribbean this week to introduce the new firm to clients and partners in the region.

The invitation-only events are titled Caribbean Currents. They began in Suriname on 5 October and moved to Guyana on 6 October. The Trinidad and Tobago event takes place today, and Jamaica follows on 8 October. Mr Bueso Anduray, who runs Inversiones Atlántida as chairman and chief executive, will speak at each event, as will Mr Tonelli, who holds the same two titles at BancAtlantic Capital. The company says the aim is to strengthen its links with clients and partners in the Caribbean.

The new bank will advise on deals, sell and trade securities for institutional clients, and invest its own money. Its target is emerging economies that the company says the large global banks have neglected and that have had little access to international capital markets. It says the firm is positioned to structure complex financings and to commit direct capital to clients in the region, backed by the balance sheet of the wider group.

Mr Tonelli is a co-founder of the bank. He was previously global head of debt capital markets at Oppenheimer and, according to the company, has about 30 years of experience in the Caribbean. The group describes him as its longtime banker.

Grupo Financiero Atlántida says it has operated for more than 113 years and manages assets of more than US$26 billion. It comprises more than 40 companies in eight countries and provides commercial banking, insurance and asset management. The company supplied these numbers, and nobody outside it has checked them.

The group has expanded steadily beyond Honduras, with operations in Central America, South America, the United States and Europe. In 2024 it became the first Honduran financial institution to enter the Spanish market. It now intends to build its presence in the Caribbean through BancAtlantic, which it says will bring dedicated investment banking to a region where it has long-standing ties.

Mr Bueso Anduray described the move as a logical next step for the group. He said that building a presence in the Caribbean takes a serious institutional commitment. The group's affiliated banks, insurers and asset managers in Central and South America, he said, would let it put its own money into deals and open the way for clients to reach overseas investors.

Mr Tonelli said corporate and state-owned enterprises in the Caribbean have considerable untapped potential. He said the purpose of the events is to speak directly with regional leaders and local partners about opportunities, and to show how the two sides could work together to diversify economies and widen access to capital markets.

The announcement does not give the size of any transactions, the names of any clients or the regulatory approvals obtained for BancAtlantic Capital. It also does not say when the bank began operating or which Caribbean markets it will pursue first. The description of the group's Caribbean position is also unclear. The company lists its existing operations without naming any in the Caribbean, yet says it already has long-standing ties to the region. All statements about the bank's strengths and prospects are the company's own.