Scotiabank Jamaica has set up a $3 billion fund from which it will issue loans to small businesses at a special rate of 9.99 per cent.
The bank has also adjusted its loan rate for residential mortgages to 6.99 per cent, which it now touts as the lowest in the market, inclusive of the business done by commercial banks and building societies.
Those initiatives are being rolled out as the bank’s financial performance wanes.
Scotia Bank Group Limited made net profit of $2.3 billion for its January 2019 first quarter, compared to $3.4 billion in the comparative period in 2018. The latter period benefited from a one-off gain of $753 million from the disposal of a subsidiary.
Jamaica’s No. 2 banking group also did poorly in the preceding October 2018 fourth quarter when its bottom line shrank to $1.6 billion. Comparatively, the October 2017 quarter also produced a profit of $3.4 billion.
Scotia Group Jamaica president and CEO David Noel acknowledged that the first-quarter earnings were down but said that the velocity of transactions is up.
“Our strategy is working, and we believe as we expand loans to the private sector, then you will see the impact on growth,” Noel said at the annual general meeting held last Friday in New Kingston.
“The number of loans out there is up, and also the number of customers we are serving, the number of insurance policies, the number of people in different mutual funds. I think the core business is performing better,” he said.
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