BANK of Jamaica (BOJ) Governor Richard Byles’ contract will come up for renewal in August 2026 as the first term of the former private sector executive comes to an end.

The BOJ governor’s role is subject to a term of seven years under the older BOJ Act, with reappointment subject to the minister of finance on consultation with the directors of BOJ’s board. Byles turned 73 on February 25 and is currently the central bank’s 12th governor, while also serving as chairman of the Financial Services Commission’s Board of Commissioners. He was appointed BOJ governor on August 19, 2019 and as FSC chairman on January 23, 2023.

Byles is the first governor of an independent BOJ, which is currently focused on inflation targeting while gearing up for the new twin peaks regulatory model that is set to take place over the next two years. This takes place at a time when the BOJ has increased its supervisory role in recent years, including the microcredit sector and eventual oversight of credit unions.

There are currently six deputy governors under Byles’ oversight, with Natalie Haynes and E George Roper’s contracts likely being renewed already when considering their appointments on February 18, 2019, and the five-year timelines applicable to persons in these roles. The latest deputy governor change includes Celeste McCalla who took over the general counsel role from Karen Chin Quee Akin, who departed the deputy governor role in April 2023 and remains a legal and governance consultant to the BOJ.

While it is expected that Byles will seek reappointment to oversee the transition to twin peaks, there have been recent changes to the BOJ’s non-executive director appointments. Dr Serge Trevor Coleridge Alleyne was appointed to the BOJ’s board on January 15 for a decade, as he took up the vacancy resulting from Howard Mitchell not seeking reappointment following his two-year term which ended in April 2023. As a result, the BOJ’s board is now made up of Byles, Senior Deputy Governor Wayne Robinson, Deputy Governor Roper, Christine Clarke, Andrea Coy, Richard Powell, Richard Pandohie and Alleyne. The governor-general-in-council appoints non-executive directors to the BOJ’s board while the board appoints the deputy governors.

During 2023 the BOJ’s 22-person executive management team received a combined $608.17 million in short-term benefits and overall compensation of $635.05 million. The governor, senior deputy governor and five deputy governors had salaries ranging from $18.33 million to $33.22 million, with allowances for deputy governors ranging from $2.26 million to $6.34 million. Byles and one deputy governor were paid a gratuity in lieu of pension benefits. The five non-executive BOJ directors received $5.44 million in fees during 2023.