PARIS (AFP) –- French bank BNP Paribas announced Friday it has reached an agreement with Scotiabank to cede its wealth management business in the Bahamas, Panama and the Cayman Islands to the Canadian bank.

The transaction, which is expected to be completed in the third quarter, will allow to make good on its pledge to withdraw from the three jurisdictions.
The terms of the deal were not released.
BNP Paribas chief executive Baudouin Prot vowed in September 2009 to pull out of countries on a “grey list” of tax havens compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The Bahamas and the Cayman Islands have since been taken off the list after they signed several bilateral information sharing agreements. Panama, however, has not signed any agreement.
After its withdrawal from Panama, BNP Paribas will no longer have any activities in tax havens, a bank spokesman said.