Access Financial Services executive chairman and majority shareholder Marcus James has taken a one-year leave of absence from the firm he founded.

The leave of absence took effect on June 27, as per a notice to the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) on Monday. Though James will be on leave, he will continue to serve on the six-member board. Michael Shaw, lead independent director for Access Financial Services, was appointed the new chairman of the board on the same day.

Charmaine Boyd-Walker has also been appointed as the chair of the audit & risk management committee of the board, a role that was held previously by James. Access company secretary Sherri Murray resigned on July 8, with Legal and Corporate Affairs Manager Carla Stephens-Mullings taking on the role on July 9.

While leave of absences are not unexpected, they are relatively rare for companies listed on the JSE. The last high-profile leave of absence was with NCB Financial Group Chairman Michael Lee-Chin last year for three months. It was ended early with Lee-Chin returning ahead of separating several managers from the financial conglomerate and setting about reshaping the entity. Five key business leaders left the NCB Financial Group in September 2023, following the chairman’s changes.

James is currently in a legal battle with his wife in Jamaica and Broward County, Florida. A legal order from the Jamaican Supreme Court has restricted the founder from disposing of or transferring, charging, diminishing or in any way howsoever dealing in assets held in the name of Springhill Holdings Limited or Aeric Investments Limited. Springhill is the holding company that directly owns 47 per cent of Access’ ordinary shares, the largest block ahead of Proven Group.

James won in the Jamaican Court of Appeal in July 2023, but the dissolution of marriage case before Judge Francis Viamontes is still ongoing. That case, which began in April 2022, has seen several notices of unavailability postings in the last three months.

Assets hit $7b

Access Financial’s asset base surpassed $7.14 billion for the first time for its 2024 financial year ending March 31. This was due to its loan book moving from $4.75 billion to $5.73 billion due to more personal loan disbursements, a portfolio which makes up 92 per cent of the loan book.

This improved loan book was reflected in the income statement where operating income increased 12 per cent from $2.08 billion to $2.34 billion. Even with higher operating expenses, Access still eked out a $340-million net profit, an improvement to the $301 million in the prior year.

However, the company skipped its quarterly dividend and stated, “This decision reflects prudent liquidity management to better position AFS to respond to market opportunities as they arise.”

Due to regulatory restrictions under the Microcredit Act, Johann Heaven’s appointment as a non-executive director to Access has been delayed as he awaits the Bank of Jamaica to approve his appointment. Heaven last served on the Access board in 2016. He is to be Proven Group’s latest shareholder director to Access’ board following Nerisha Davis-Farquharson’s resignation in March to join JMMB Group’s board on the next day.