NCB Financial Group Limited (NCBFG) on Wednesday announced an interim dividend payment of $0.50 per ordinary stock unit.

The announcement follows a meeting of the company’s Board of Directors on February 16, 2024.

In a press release, NCBFG said the dividend, scheduled for payment on March 18, 2024 to shareholders on record as of March 4, 2024, underscores its “dedication to delivering consistent returns”, noting that the decision follows strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing profitability and upholding a robust dividend policy.

Robert Almeida, Group CEO of NCBFG, emphasised the company’s dedication to accountability and fulfilment of promises, stating, “Our continued commitment to excellence drives our actions for maintaining the highest performance standards that will benefit shareholders, customers, employees and the wider community.”

This marks NCBFG’s second consecutive dividend payment since resuming payments in 2023 and Almeida attributes this success to the Group’s renewed strategic focus on Efficiency, Governance and Customer Experience for sustained growth and effectiveness.

Almeida added, “NCB and Guardian are the leaders in banking, capital markets, insurance and wealth management in the region. By reducing corporate overheads and distractions, the operating businesses become more focused on being brilliant at the basics, which then earns us the privilege to leverage the entire platform to provide holistic solutions that create wealth for individuals, businesses and the countries in the Caribbean.”

Endorsing the performance and announcement, Michael Lee-Chin, Chairman of the Group, remarked, “NCB is not only a Systemically Important Financial Institution or SIFI in Jamaica, but also an important investment for over 40,000 investors, and employer to nearly 6,000 staff. As such, NCBFG is being managed to be a consistent dividend payer. This dividend, the second consecutive after a long hiatus, is evidence of our earlier pronouncement that ‘dividends are an imperative, not an option’. We will continue to build on the momentum we have garnered since our restructuring of July 17, 2023.”

The CEOs of NCBFG’s major subsidiaries, National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCBJ) and Guardian Holdings Limited (GHL) also accredit some of the Group’s major improvements to a focus on strengthening operating efficiency and enhancing the customer experience.

Bruce Bowen, CEO of NCB, highlighted that addressing key customer ‘pain points’ will earn Jamaica’s largest bank the right to deepen customer relationships and expand share of wallet. Similarly, GHL’s CEO, Ian Chinapoo, noted that Guardian Group has remained ‘on purpose’ with its goals of preserving, protecting and growing its core businesses to create value for shareholders and the communities right across the region.

Almeida concluded, “We aim to build a sustainable enterprise that serves its stakeholders optimally and we will continue to prioritise capital adequacy, dividend consistency and reasonable growth to ensure continued success.”