National Commercial Bank targets UK-based SMEs
Published:Thursday | March 24, 2016 | 5:29 PMSteven Jackson
National Commercial Bank Jamaica (NCB) revealed that it recently started targeting small businesses in the United Kingdom (UK) to secure loans locally through its retail banking division.
It is the latest drive to focus on overseas small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to expand the bank's loan portfolio.
"The broadened focus of the UK operations is to target the SME sector in the UK. Previously, this arm of the retail business concentrated on the remittance of pensions as well as administrative support to NCB customers living in the UK," the bank states in its annual report.
For the 2016 financial year the retail arm expects to "focus on credit expansion to the SME segment:, it said. The retail banking division made $1.9 billion in operating profit on revenues of $17.2 billion for the 2015 financial year, or 14 per cent higher profit than a year earlier.
GREATER COMPETITION
Patrick Hylton, group managing director of NCB, addressing the bank's annual general meeting at the Spanish Court Hotel, New Kingston, last Thursday, indicated that the group faces competition from quasi-financial institutions which are entering into the lending space.
"Another challenge facing us as an industry is the rise of disruptive technologies, locally and internationally, which has made the market increasingly competitive and splintered. Transactions, once the exclusive domain of the local commercial banks, are being offered or will soon be offered by quasi-financial service providers," he said.
"As an organisation, we keep a close eye on these developments and factor them into our business strategy. The truth is that as much as the changes may be disruptive on the one hand, they present significant opportunities on the other hand. We are alert to these opportunities and are focused on executing on them," Hylton added.
The group made $12.3 billion in net profit in 2015 compared with $12.32 billion a year earlier and was attributable to increased taxation.