NCB Group top executives on leave, Lee-Chin makes early return
Published:Monday | July 17, 2023 | 7:39 PM
The top two executives of the NCB Financial Group, CEO Patrick Hylton and his deputy Dennis Cohen, are reportedly on leave.
The group's chairman Michael Lee-Chin has also resumed his role at one of the largest financial institutions in the region earlier than planned.
Hylton and Cohen went on leave effective Monday, The Gleaner understands. There is no indication whether the leave is voluntary.
Lee-Chin made the announcement at a hastily called meeting this morning, leaving stunned managers to relay the news to lower level staff.
In May, the billionaire and largest shareholder of the group announced he was taking a three-month leave of absence from the group to "focus on personal and business matters".
But in a notice to the Jamaica Stock Exchange on Monday, the NCB Group said Lee-Chin's leave has ended and "he will accordingly resume active participation" on the boards he leads.
"Lee-Chin says he is pleased to advise that he has been able to attend to the matters that had occasioned the leave in less time than he had anticipated," the statement said.
In seeking to calm speculation in May, the NCB said that: "In addition to the strength of our board of directors, our executive team responsible for strategic direction and execution remains strong, under the leadership of President and Group Chief Executive Officer, the Honourable Patrick Hylton".
Last week, Lee-Chin said he was not pleased that the group has not paid annual dividends to its shareholders since May 2021.
"I am definitely not happy. And I am not just speaking for myself. I am speaking for all shareholders, including the pensioners. Certainly, we all depend on the income from dividends," he told the Jamaica Observer newspaper. "I am not happy because I have had to be selling assets to meet my expenses."
He also argued that the group needs to improve its governance and efficiency.
The NCB Group has four subsidiaries, NCB Jamaica, Guardian Group, Clarien and the entity that controls the Lynk digital wallet.
More details in the Tuesday Gleaner.
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