WITH successful operations in Trinidad and Tobago and the Dominican Republic as proof of their competence, the management of Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB) will renew their bid to obtain a commercial banking licence in Jamaica and to further its sojourn into the securities markets across the region.

Speaking on Wednesday at the launch of the company’s most recent preference share offer, JMMB Group CEO Keith Duncan said he is confident of the growth prospects of the company and its ability to successfully operate a commercial bank in Jamaica.

JMMB has applied for and been denied a commercial bank licence from the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) in the past. Duncan said the company will renew that application in the hope that the calls for more competition in the commercial banking sector is serious.

“At some point in the future we expect that JMMB will have a commercial bank in Jamaica. We already have a commercial bank in Trinidad and Tobago. We have gone to the process of applying for our licence to the Bank of Jamaica. We would expect that in the medium term we could look to reapply and we believe at some time we will be successful because we are a major player in the market and we have over 170,000 clients, we have client loyalty. Our value proposition to our client has always been great that’s why we have been able to acquire such a significant client base,” Duncan told Sunday Finance this week.

“So therefore at some time we expect that the Central Bank will have to grant us our banking licence. And we will employ all strategies to acquire that banking licence. We will continue to expand our banking presence in Trinidad and Tobago, we will continue to expand our banking presence in the Dominican Republic. We are tested and proven in those markets so therefore we need to be able to expand our banking presence in Jamaica,” Duncan stressed.

It is no coincidence that Finance Minister Audley Shaw on Thursday reiterated the call for more competition in the banking sector in order for rates to become more competitive. Duncan said as a result of JMMB’s size, they may be able to come into the market at the right price point and offer lower rates to clients.

“We hear the minister of finance calling out for competition and lower rates and all of that. I think that at some point they realise that they have to grant some more licences to increase competition so that they can compete rates downwards. And banks like JMMB will be looking at, if we were to introduce our banking model in the future, a very efficient model. When you are starting smaller you can get the model right up front so that you can be more efficient so that you can come in at rates which are a lot more competitive and will be in a lot more favour with the Ministry of Finance,” Duncan reasoned.

However, while the opportunity to operate a commercial bank hangs in the balance, more immediate plans concern expansion in already existing service lines, Imani Duncan, manager, group marketing told Sunday Finance.

“We are looking at access to markets whether in the branch or mobile banking and so forth that you see in other institutions,” she said. “We have plans for the expansion of our websites for different types of activities and transactions via web. We already have a moneyline access… but we are making that more dynamic, more interactive moving forward. We are also looking at having that as a version on the mobile phone, adapting that accordingly for persons that have the more sophisticated handsets. But importantly apart from the electronic communications channels we are also looking at how we are bringing services to our clients,” Duncan said.

She added that the recent addition of an agency in Junction, St Elizabeth to meet the needs of persons there is one example of more efficient, customer-focused strategy.

“In Junction for instance we have an agency. It is a smaller branch that people actually go to clients in their homes, in their businesses to transact on their terms. It’s about not so much having brick and mortar everywhere,” she said. “We are looking at our expansion plans for efficiency, timeliness and convenience,” she said.

The markets in the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago are being targeted for further expansion as well. Patrick Ellis, Group chief financial officer, outlined the strategy for its expansion in the Central American country in which JMMB already has a securities firm ‘Puesto De Bolsa’.

“In Santiago the population is about 2.6 million and what we see is in terms of investment opportunities, they are wide ranging, far reaching. So we will have the branch there but also targeting the high net worth where there will be direct contact, direct marketing and so it will be a cross base, in terms of having the branch but going to the customers as well,” Ellis said. The expansion in the Dom Rep is expected to cost the company US$1 million, Ellis said.

Julian Mair, chief investment strategist, said the Trinidad market presents additional opportunities outside of commercial banking and that JMMB would be re-entering the securities market in Trinidad. “The Trinidad market is a market that we are very comfortable with, even prior to entering it with JMMB we always had a very strong presence with institutional clients,” he said. “We see a need to continue to deepen our relations there and continue to develop the market. We have had discussions with a few select parties and individuals about playing a role and we are currently evaluating our methods of entry,” Mair said.

Keith Duncan also revealed that JMMB is in talks to acquire securities firms across the region, but declined to give further details, saying the discussions were at a premature stage.