Western Jamaica ­ a gateway to financial services

Brian Boothe, Contributor

OVER THE last 25 years, there has been significant growth and development in western Jamaica.

Montego Bay, which is the hub for the region, is the most significant beneficiary of the investments that have taken place in recent times. In tandem with the growth in the regional economy, the expansion of the financial sector, encompassing more players, there has been more vigorous competition.

The commercial banking sector is dominated by National Commercial Bank (NCB) and the Bank of Nova Scotia Jamaica (BNS), each of which provides 12 outlets for the banking convenience of customers in the parishes of Trelawny, St. James, Hanover, Westmoreland and St. Elizabeth.

RBTT Bank has four offices in the region and a second is to be added in the second city by year-end. First Global and First Caribbean have one branch each based in Montego Bay.

DEMAND FOR HOUSING

Growth in the region has led to increasing demand for housing and as a consequence, several housing and land developments are taking place concurrently in the second city. This has led to buoyancy in the mortgage business, of which Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS) and Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS) control the lion's share.

As a result of the competition, interest rates have been falling. First-time home owners can now access mortgage financing at rates as low as 13.5 per cent per annum.

However, the most significant change that has affected the sector over the last two decades is the financial sector meltdown that occurred in the 1990s. From the ashes of Blaise Trust, Century National Bank, Eagle Commercial Bank, Jamaica Citizens Bank and Workers Savings and Loan Bank ultimately emerged RBTT. The licensed financial institutions (LFI) and securities dealers then in operation in the region did not escape unscathed. Several were forced to merge to strengthen their balance sheet, effect economies of scale and operational efficiencies and also to increase market share. It is our view that stronger institutions can only redound to the good of the sector and to customers' benefit.

MAJOR SECURITIES DEALERS

With the increasing sophistication of the customer base and the attractiveness of the local market, all major LFI and securities dealers now have a presence in Montego Bay. NCB has had a longstanding presence in the market (formerly through Edward Gayle and Company, and now through NCB Capital Markets Limited) along with other players, namely Jamaica Money Market Brokers, Dehring, Bunting and Golding, Let's Investments, Manufacturers Sigma Merchant Bank, International Trust and Merchant Bank and Scotia Jamaica Investment Management.

In recent times, the region has seen the advent of Barita Investments, Capital and Credit Merchant Bank and Pan Caribbean Financial Services ­ the new entity that has digested Manufacturers' Sigma and which is slated to acquire the portfolio of Let's Investments.

Indeed, not only is the western region a gateway to tourism in Jamaica and the Caribbean but also a gateway to financial services!