JEROME Smalling has been appointed CEO of Capital and Credit Merchant Bank (CCMB).

The company, which was recently acquired by Jamaica Money Market Brokers (JMMB), aims to get commercial banking status, but that’s in the long term, according to the new head.

His focus now is to grow the client base of the bank using a customer-oriented approach.

“As the third largest financial institution in the Caribbean, the JMMB Group is perfectly poised to become an even larger financial giant in the medium term,” Smalling said. “As a result, the vision is to expand our client base by capitalising on the reach provided by the acquisition of the merchant bank.”

Smalling identified the difficulty with targeting clients in areas where CCMB currently does not have a physical presence as the biggest challenge to the merchant bank’s growth plans

“This is a hurdle that we will quickly clear by introducing clients to other options and our client care centre as transactions can be easily completed without having to visit one of our branches,” he said. “The options available coupled with the value-added benefits of our offerings will make the decision to bank with us easy for our clients and prospective clients. “

Throughout his 23-year career in banking, Smalling has executed critical coaching, sales leadership and business development skills to grow assets and profitability while driving customer value at the financial institutions at which he was based.

Among his responsibilities have included Scotiabank branch manager; vice- president, personal banking at RBC Caribbean; and most recently, branch manager, sales strategy initiatives at the RBC National Office in Toronto Canada.