The Chairman and CEO of the Capital & Credit Financial Group, Ryland T. Campbell. - Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer
CAPITAL AND Credit Merchant Bank Limited has broken the billion dollar profit barrier, by posting an after-tax profit of J$1.16 billion for its 2005 financial year. This represents a 35 per cent increase over the $865 million earned in 2004.
In recognition of the challenges that presented themselves in 2005, Capital and Credit aggressively implemented its strategy of increasing non-proprietary income streams, while restructuring its balance sheet and liquidating low yielding assets. This strategy facilitated net interest income of $1.1 billion. Simultaneously, the bank and its subsidiaries earned $1.12
billion in other revenues, a 114 per cent increase over the $521 million earned in 2004. The
main components of other revenues were net gains on securities trading ($999 million) and commissions and fee income ($76 million).
NET INTEREST INCOME
The contributions from net interest income and other revenues combined to produce overall net interest income and other revenues of $2.2 billion, a 35 per cent increase over the $1.64 billion achieved in 2004.
Chairman and CEO of the Capital and Credit Financial Group, Ryland T. Campbell, explained that the increase was necessitated by the Group's "significant investments in human capital through targeted recruitment and training, to facilitate the diversification of income streams, the proper management of market and operating risks, as well as meeting growing customer needs." As a result, the investment in staff ($473 million) was the most significant operating cost.
CAPITAL BASE STRENGTHENED
The bank's capital base expanded in 2005, with total stockholders equity of $4.67 billion at December 31, 2005, a 53 per cent increase over the equity realised in 2004. The capital base was strengthened through Capital and Credit's rights issue, in addition to general growth in earnings.
Commenting on the performance figures, President and CEO of Capital and Credit Merchant Bank, Curtis Martin, indicated his satisfaction, given the challenging year that 2005 was. In looking toward the future, Mr. Martin said the bank "continues its plan of solidifying its income streams by growing its non-proprietary business, and at the same time enhancing its net interest income by diversifying into assets with higher net-
interest spreads. We expect that these
initiatives will ensure the continued growth in our profitability for the year 2006."
