RBTT Bank has opened a US$10 million fund to lend to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) specifically for the purposes of trade financing and capital expenditure, including business expansion and upgrade of facilities.

“The fund will provide loans of between US$50,000 and US$250,000 to SMEs at concessionary rates of between 7.5 and 8 per cent per annum,” said RBTT in a press statement released yesterday. “The facility is specifically geared towards providing financial support to the export and productive sectors, including, although not limited to manufacturing, agro business and tourism.”

According to Minna Israel, president and country head of RBTT Bank Jamaica Limited, “the facility was developed specifically for small and medium sized entities in response to their need for more affordable financing.”

She noted that the initiative also supports the Government’s Jamaica Debt Exchange (JDX) programme which has seen the progressive lowering of interest rates by the Bank of Jamaica.

She also pointed out that, while this is the first such initiative since the JDX from RBTT Bank Jamaica Limited, RBTT is actively exploring other initiatives to assist the business and productive sectors.

Barrington Watson, Head, RBTT Business Banking Unit, explained that for companies to be eligible to access the RBTT SME USD-Line, they must be registered Jamaican entities with at least three years of operation and must be exporters or earners of foreign exchange.

RBC and the RBTT Financial Group operate in 18 jurisdictions across the Caribbean from the Bahamas in the North to Suriname in the South, with a network of 126 branches and 326 ATMs.

In addition to personal and business banking, services include investment banking, trust and asset management, wealth management, project financing, securities trading and stock broking. RBTT Group also offers insurance, mutual funds, credit cards, and electronic banking.