IN a forceful defence of one of the largest financial rescues in recent Jamaican corporate history, Angus Young, CEO of NCB Capital Markets, framed the massive $15.1-billion lifeline to the Jamaica Broilers Group (JBG) not merely as a transaction, but as an unavoidable duty.

“There was no way the largest indigenous financial institution is going to look at the largest indigenous agri-firm here in Jamaica and not get involved,” Young declared at the JSE Investments Capital Markets Conference 2026’s ‘CEOs Meet the Press: Corporate Outlook 2026 & Beyond’ session on Thursday, January 22 at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel. Addressing what he characterised as inaccurate press coverage, Young said the deal, announced via a press release on January 14, was the best proof of his argument.

His statement cuts to the core of a complex bailout.

Last week’s press release revealed NCB Financial Group underwrote $15.1 billion in senior secured financing to support JBG as it executes a “revised strategy” following the identification of serious “accounting matters” within its US operations. These issues, involving inventories, goodwill impairments, and unrecorded liabilities, had adversely impacted the group’s cash flows and profitability.

Yet, for Young and NCB, the decision was clear-cut. The calculus, he argued, extended far beyond spreadsheets.

The foundation for the rescue, as detailed in the release, was the enduring strength of JBG’s home operations. While its US segment faltered, the group’s Jamaican operations remained robustly profitable, delivering a net profit of $2.5 billion and holding an equity position of $16 billion for the last fiscal year.

This domestic strength transformed the narrative from saving a failing company to insulating a vital national asset from a contagious overseas wound. JBG holds a two-thirds market share in the domestic poultry space, a statistic Young equated directly with national “food security”. The company also directly employs 2,500 staff and supports over 12,000 indirect jobs, with entire rural communities often built around its operations.

“Wherever Jamaica Broilers operations are, there are communities built around it and depend on it,” Young stated, framing the deal as a social and economic stabiliser.

He emphasised that the rescue was neither simple nor swift. The process took six months — double the time for a typical capital markets transaction — due to the “very, very significant issues” that required a custom-tailored solution.

According to the release, the final $15.1 billion structure is a complex, multi-tranche blend of J$6.4 billion in loans from National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited and $8.7 billion in bonds arranged by NCB Capital Markets, with maturities extending up to 14 years. The NCB team also led negotiations with JBG’s other domestic creditors to reset financial covenants and modify collateral, providing essential runway.

“We essentially put funding in a custom-tailored manner across every point of the curve by flexing the breadth of the NCB Financial Group,” Young said, highlighting the deal as a “tangible demonstration” of the group’s scale and the recent merger of its corporate and investment banking teams.

In his defence of the deal, Young argued that large indigenous institutions like NCB were uniquely positioned to execute such a complex rescue. “Who else could do this other than NCB?” he asked the conference, pointing to the six-month timeline and bespoke structure as beyond the scope or patience of many competitors.

“This is the best way I could think about demonstrating to you how important large, strong, indigenous financial institutions are to us here in the Caribbean region,” he concluded.

The deal, however, places a significant $15.1-billion exposure on NCB’s books for a company that recently uncovered major internal control failures. The press release notes that JBG’s recovery is contingent on a “disciplined turnaround plan”.

JBG Group President Christopher Levy stated the company has “strengthened leadership, restored financial controls”, engaged specialised auditors, and brought US operations under direct Jamaican oversight. Young expressed confidence that “with more robust corporate governance, transparency, and disciplined execution”, JBG is positioned to recover.