Cremin

Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) has launched a new facility, Sure Advance Plus, aimed at providing credit services and products to its retail and corporate clients.

The facility is an extension of an existing product, but with the key difference being that it is open to persons other than existing customers.

The retail financing options are offered in three lines: motor vehicle loans, home loans, and general purpose loans for education, travel, debt consolidation, consumer goods and insurance.

The interest rate charged for a general-purpose loan is dependent on the collateral.

If the collateral type is a JMMB cash account, an interest rate of 17.5 per cent is charged with a margin of 90 per cent.

For a JMMB-held bonds account, the same interest rate applies, but with a lower margin of 75 per cent.

Equities and life insurance accounts attract an interest rate of 19 per cent, with a margin of 50 per cent and 80 per cent, respectively.

A Sure Home loans allows clients to access the equity in their homes for home improvement and repairs, debt consolidation, purchase of goods and services and is offered at an interest rate of 18.35 per cent and a maximum repayment period of seven years.

A lower limit of $100,000 is given on both the general purpose and home-equity loans, with the maximum amount dependent on the client's ability to repay the loan and JMMB's internal risk policy.

"Basically we assess the limit on the value of the asset that they are borrowing against and their ability to repay the loan," said Marguerite Cremin, marketing manager of JMMB. The Sure Advance Plus motor vehicle loan attracts an interest rate of 17.75 per cent for new and used cars up to seven years old with a borrower contribution that varies with the age of the car.

The money-market brokerage also said it would offer a special discount on interest rates to clients who had been with the company for more than four years.

JMMB projects that 10 per cent of the company's clients would make use of the service in its first year.

JMMB currently has a client base of over 100,000 with retained profits at the end of March 2007 standing at $6.3 billion.

For corporate clients, JMMB will offer both credit and investment products.

Complete financial solution

"JMMB has entered a new phase in its 15-year history with the ability to provide its clients with a complete financial solution", said Karl Thompson, head of the Structured Finance Unit, as he rolled out the new line of corporate and commercial products.

The corporate financing option has within its line eight core products offerings.

These include accounts recei- vables and inventory financing, letters of credit, foreign arrangements, commercial real estate, commercial equipment, and project financing.

To market some of these products, the company will be banking on its subsidiary, Intercommercial Bank Limited in Trinidad, while pressing ahead with plans to seek a commercial banking licence in Jamaica.

sabrina.gordon@gleanerjm.com