Having expanded at a considerable rate over the past decade, financial services in Jamaica have done a great deal to stabilise the economy’s more troubled areas. Nowhere else is the contribution more significant than in banking, where the landscape has undergone quite an extraordinary transformation and promises to pull lesser performers out of the mire.

“The transformation of Jamaica’s banking sector hinged on improved risk management programmes and processes, enhanced understanding of customer behaviour, cutting-edge technologies, reorganisation of functions and business units across the sector, and improved products and services”, Audrey Tugwell Henry, Senior General Manager of Retail Banking at National Commercial Bank (NCB) Jamaica told World Finance.

With the sector’s progress centred largely on improvements to the regulatory environment, new product developments, pricing strategies and geographic expansion, it’s little surprise that banking has fast become a bright spot for Jamaica’s gathering recovery. Having grown 11.5 percent since 2005, in a period wherein manufacturing has contracted by much the same rate, growth in financial services is outpacing that of the wider economy, and by some margin.

“These changes to the sector have empowered the industry to seek more flexible capabilities and technologies to accommodate rapid change, driven home by the importance of using data analytics to drive decision-making. The sector focuses more on low total cost-of-ownership for solutions and technology to manage the cost base, in light of tightening revenue margins”, said Henry. “We expect the banking sector will make operational processes more transparent to enhance customer satisfaction while continuing to promote process automation and more efficient workflows.”

Conscious that the sector was in a similar position for much of the early 1990s, when its non-stop development contributed to the national economic imbalance and resulting crisis, major names in the banking community have taken pains to ensure that growth this time around is sustainable. Regulations have come thick and fast, and only those with the willingness to uphold the country’s stringent controls have performed. Having signed up already to a procession of international regulatory protocols, the Jamaican banking sector of today is united by a responsible operating culture and a commitment to its people.

Honour the individual
In keeping to this sense of social responsibility, many names, principally NCB, have cranked up the focus on ensuring banks honour the individual. “The landscape of the banking sector workforce has transformed with persons filling jobs with revamped mind-sets to manage the new framework of technologies and improved customer interaction; today’s work pool is required to embrace change as a constant”, said Henry.

“The Jamaican banking sector is an industry that was not ordinarily known for radical changes but the workforce has moved along with the on-going transformation in the sector and reinvented themselves through training and improving their competitiveness. NCB has put measures in place through courses and job opportunities to assist employees in advancing their capabilities and skillsets in line with the environmental and business demands.”

NCB’s roots in the local banking community stretch back to 1837, and the bank has in that time secured a pioneering legacy that has shone through as the organisation has evolved and transformed through the years. Currently, NCB is the country’s largest financial group. “Focused on maintaining a profitable organisation, which provides highly competitive and innovative products and service offerings for our customers”, according to Henry. “Its aim is to maintain a solid governance structure and robust compliance framework, while utilising flexible business models and efficient operational processes and systems.”

Its vision is to rank among the leading five institutions in the English and Spanish speaking Caribbean by 2016, and, in a bid to achieve this end, NCB has been driving productivity in its core business while exploring inorganic growth opportunities elsewhere. Abiding by a threefold commitment to innovation, expertise and strength, NCB is looked upon both by consumers and industry peers as a pillar of Jamaica’s burgeoning financial services sector.

Boasting an asset base of $500bn (see Fig. 1), as of December 31 2014, NCB is committed to the cause of financial prosperity, and also wishes to instil social consciousness through its many nation-building activities. “Through relationships with our employees, customers, shareholders, suppliers, vendor partners, regulators and the wider public, we are focused on sustaining our strength and helping you put your best life forward.”

Having done a great deal to spearhead the latest developments in Jamaica’s banking community, NCB is an important cog in the banking machine and a key driver on the country’s road to recovery. Carrying out its operations always within a framework that observes proper ethical, regulatory and financially responsible practices, NCB has gone to great lengths to embrace its role as a leading corporate citizen in Jamaica. Add to that the bank’s wide-reaching structural adjustments made in response to the renovation of Jamaica’s banking landscape, and there’s much to distinguish NCB from its competitors.

Taking the lead
“NCB is taking the lead in advancing the renovation of the Jamaican banking landscape”, said Henry. Looking at the structural adjustments made by the bank, management has ensured that its corporate strategy drives the strategy of its business lines, while also promoting a low total cost of ownership for solutions and technology. NCB has also fostered an improved understanding of segment profitability and maximised up/cross sell opportunities and taken a lean approach to business processes, in a bid to reduce error, redundancy and waste. Lastly, the bank has implemented an enterprise information management initiative to enhance its data analytics capabilities.

“Given the far reaching impact of human capital on the sustainability of a company, we are focused on equipping the workforce with the knowledge, skills and competencies required for the NCB Group to exploit the current and emerging business opportunities in our operating markets. Fulfilment of our aspiration to become the premier Caribbean financial institution necessitates a workforce that is proactive, innovative, flexible and agile”, said Henry.

In furtherance of this aspiration, NCB has opted to declare the identification and classification of key positions across the business that directly impact business continuity and present risk exposure, while also mapping existing employee talent to current and future roles in order to identify competence gaps. The bank has also designed a robust succession management framework to ensure leadership continuity, talent retention and development and facilitation of individual growth and development.

On the digital front, the bank is a keen user of social media, particularly for the purposes of enhancing the recruitment, selection and placement processes. NCB also gives employees plenty of opportunities for personal development via its eCampus portal, which features a series of accredited courses for professional development, as well as business and skills related tutorials for personal growth.

The bank’s deserved status as a responsible corporate citizen is best evidenced by its NCB Foundation, which was formalised back in 2003 to fulfil the bank’s philanthropic commitments. Over the foundation’s lifespan, the bank has invested upwards of $1bn to support development projects across Jamaica centring on education, youth leadership and entrepreneurship, and community development and sports.

Spill over effect
Focused not just on furthering the banking sector, but on furthering the competencies of the population at large, NCB’s achievements go far beyond financial services and extend the communities in which it operates. The commitment is one best seen in the bank’s values, which read that it holds a deep and abiding respect for every customer, colleague and shareholder in its regional network.

“Our market leadership, solid track record of financial performance and growth, innovation along with an experienced team of executive officers and customer-focused staff gives us competitive strengths which position us for continued growth and future profitability in the island and the region”, according to Henry. For the time being, the bank’s efforts will rest with the sector’s on-going development and in ensuring that the banking landscape undergoes a smooth transition, as it falls subject to closer regulatory scrutiny and increased expectations from both customers and shareholders.

“A healthy and robust banking sector will aid the country’s economy by strengthening the capacity of businesses and individuals to grow and spur GDP growth, lower unemployment and increase economic certainty”, said Henry. “Additionally a healthy and robust banking sector contributes to socio-economic development through corporate social responsibility.”

Assuming that the banking sector continues to realise the same level of growth it has done in years past, its success could well spill over into less successful areas of the economy and prove decisive in charging the country’s recovery. Spearheaded by pioneering names in the industry, chief among them NCB, the banking sector is fast emerging as a leader, not in terms of economic contributions, but in observing ethical and responsible standards.