EXIM Bank joins with the rest of Jamaica in this our nation’s Golden Jubilee Year to celebrate 50 years of Independence.

As the nation takes a retrospective pause, the EXIM Bank also looks back on the significant impact that the bank has had on Jamaica’s economic landscape which belies its relatively youthful 26 years of existence. EXIM Bank is proud of the role that it has played in Jamaica’s economic development.

The Bank’s performance speaks for itself, having achieved a record high $7 billion in loan disbursements to Jamaica’s productive sector at the end of its 2012 financial year. This represents a real growth of 7.69 per cent increase in the Bank’s loan utilisation portfolio over the previous year, when considered against the prevailing 7.3 per cent inflation rate.

This is clearly a testament to the confidence that Jamaican producers have in the Bank and the hard work and demonstrated competence of the staff, managers and directors who have shaped the institution over the years.

Today, the Bank has become deeply entwined in the economic fabric of Jamaica and proudly celebrates the hundreds of Jamaican businesses that it has helped to succeed across several sectors, including agro-processing, tourism, mining, distribution and services since 1986.

Many of these companies are now being hailed as the key drivers of economic growth for Jamaica and have become an important source of national pride.

EXIM Bank achieved its own milestone this year, having completed 25 years of service to Jamaica’s producers. Tangible demonstration of EXIM’s contribution to this group can be seen in the $30 billion of financial support that the bank has extended to Jamaican entrepreneurs in just the last five years.

Our hope for Jamaica is that as a country we are able to achieve sustained economic growth and prosperity for all our people. We encourage Jamaican entrepreneurs from the coffee plantations in the Blue Mountains, to the “bread basket” parish of St Elizabeth, across to the tourist Mecca of our North Coast beaches to recommit themselves to developing world class Jamaican products and services. For this year and for the next 50 years, EXIM Bank stands ready to help our producers to realise their productive promise.