From The Jamaica Gleaner

The Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Limited (CariCRIS) has assigned NCB Capital Markets Limited a local A-plus rating for a debt issue of about J$16 billion with a positive outlook, which indicates good creditworthiness.

The current rating indicates that NCB Capital Markets is a strong business institution in Jamaica and an emerging player in the Caribbean. This announcement, made recently by the regional rating agency, follows NCB Group’s recent achievement of record second quarter profit of $5.8 billion.

As the wealth, asset management and investment banking arm of the NCB Group, NCB Capital Markets along with its subsidiaries and sister company in Cayman contributed 23 per cent of the overall operating income; making it the second highest contributor to the group’s earnings.

Additionally, the segment’s operating income for the financial period ended March 31, showed a 67.2 per cent increase over the same period in the previous financial year. This is complemented by closed corporate financing transactions that exceeded $25 billion in the first six months of the current financial year.

A CariCRIS credit rating gives an objective assessment of an entity’s creditworthiness relative to that of other debt issuing entities. It provides ratings for both the regional and national level. NCB Capital Markets also received a CariBBB- (Foreign Currency) rating on the regional scale.

Expansion Efforts

According to CariCRIS, the assigned rating is influenced by its expectation for further macroeconomic improvement in Jamaica over the next 12 to 15 months. That is in addition to its projection for further revenue and profit growth based on the company’s ongoing expansion efforts in the wider Caribbean.

Steven Gooden, chief executive officer, NCB Capital Markets, noted that the rating comes at an integral time when the NCB Group is accelerating its regional expansion exercises throughout the Caribbean. NCB Capital Markets has a market presence in Cayman, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados.

IMAGE Steven Gooden

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