Left: Melhado, chairman of PanCaribbeanBank. Right: Pratt, managing director of PanCaribbeanBank. - file photos

PanCaribbeanBank Limited, Jamaica's seventh and smallest commercial bank, by assets, has named three branch managers to oversee its five-branch commercial banking network, and has kept the institution's old board intact.

The new bank, a subsidiary of Pan Caribbean Financial Services Limited (PCFS), completed its transition from a merchant bank - formerly PCMB - last week, adding 30 jobs and investing in technology to facilitate its expansion into personal banking and has structured its operations into three regional blocks.

Frances Poole will run the Kingston office, while Ornell Bedasse is regional manager in charge of the Montego Bay and Ocho Rios branches, and Loven McCook the Mandeville and Savanna-La-Mar operations.

Businessman Peter Melhado - a crossover from Manufacturers Sigma at its acquisition by Pan Caribbean - remains the bank's chairman, heading a board of nine.

The other eight directors are PanCaribbeanBank managing director Henry Pratt; PCFS group chairman and Sagicor Life Jamaica president Richard Byles; Sagicor Financial Corp CEO and Sagicor Life Jamaica chairman Dodridge Miller; Pan Caribbean president Donovan Perkins; president of Sagicor Life Inc Patricia Downes-Grant; and PCFS senior vice president Phillip Armstrong; director of finance at Sandals Resorts International group Patrick Lynch; and Hayden Singh, who runs Courts Jamaica Limited.

Lynch and Singh are external to the Sagicor network, PCFS' ultimate parent headquartered in Barbados.

The new bank can now offer chequing accounts, debit card and overdraft facilities.

It plans to grow from new deposits and loans.

But PanCaribbeanBank, which has made the transition with a $435 million pre-tax profit cushion and a $3.3 billion capital base, says it has no plans to aim for the top of the commercial banking sector and 'fears' being too successful.

FEARS SUCCESS

"Our great fear is that we are so successful that it impacts our customer service standards," said its information sheet.

But even it were aiming for a top slot in the banking sector, PanCaribbeanBank is years away from offering any serious rivalry, at least to the top three players.

The new bank joins a fraternity that is now valued at $516 billion or just above half a trillion dollars by assets, but has a less than two per cent share.

It's at No 5 in capitalisation, but commands a small five per cent of the sector's equity base, is No 6 in loans but has a little more than two per cent of that market, and seventh in deposits, commanding $5 billion of $327 billion or 1.5 per cent.

PanCaribbeanBank, on its own fact sheet, posed itself the question of the market share it was targeting but avoided a direct answer.

"We are starting with the smallest balance sheet of the seven commercial banks, but fifth by capital. So we do have the capacity to grow quickly," the bank said.

"Our goal is not to be the biggest commercial bank; our strategic objective is to serve our customers well ..."

The company is to more clearly outline its plans in a briefing scheduled for July, but has already suggested that it hopes to capitalise on the system of referrals that has secured clients for the group in the past.

Three years ago, it said, 70 per cent of Pan Caribbean's business came through referrals.

SENIOR MANAGERS

Pratt, a senior vice president in the Pan Caribbean group, who led the retired PCMB, will be supported by senior executives: Gene Douglas, who remains vice president of corporate trust and company secretary, Margaret McPherson, vice president in charge of operations; Donnette Scarlett continues as assistant vice president for treasury; Colleen Yearde-Williams remains assistant vice president and financial controller; while Tanya Allgrove is senior manager in charge of corporate banking.

Douglas and Singh were not named in the fact sheet distributed by Pan Caribbean's publicists, but Douglas confirmed yesterday that both retain their respective positions.

The PanCaribbean group, a $50 billion company by assets, is among the most profitable companies on the stock market, reporting $1.2 billion, or $2.23 per share, of net profit last year.

But the brokerage has signalled that group earnings, though still likely to grow this year, will do so at a slower pace because of start-up costs associated with the new bank, which represent 18 per cent of group assets.

PanCaribbeanBank's shift from merchant banking to commercial banking has further narrowed the former sector to three players capitalised at a combined $5 billion - Scotia DBG Merchant Bank, dominant player Capital and Credit Merchant Bank and MF&G Trust and Merchant Bank.

The sector is valued by assets at $32 billion.

business@gleanerjm.com