THE Capital & Credit Financial Group (CCFG) posted a 31 per cent net profit increase for the third quarter ending September 30, 2010.

The CCFG Group’s 2010 3rd Quarter earnings are up from approximately $94 million for the comparative period in 2009, with a 14 per cent increase in the Year-To-Date Profit of approximately $269 million, compared to approximately $236 million achieved for the nine-month period last year.

CCFG’s Chairman & Group president, Ryland Campbell, noted in a press release that “Capital & Credit has begun to reap some of the benefits of its strategic decision to focus on and strengthen its Core Income Line.”

He pointed to the improvement in Non-Interest Expenses (NIE) as a major contributor to the strong financial results, which for the Quarter under review reflected a 39 per cent reduction, from approximately $477 million to just under $289 million. For CCFG, Loan Loss Provision and Other Operating Expenses declined by 88 per cent and 36 per cent respectively, while for CCMB, the respective declines for those expenses declined by 88 per cent and 60 percent for the quarter under review.

Campbell noted that CCFG also recorded a 194 per cent growth in Securities Trading, moving from losses of $90 million in 2009, to earnings of $85 million, as well as 15 per cent increase in its Capital Base, which stood at $6.5 billion as at September 30, 2010.

Deputy group president, banking & investment services, Curtis Martin, who is also the CEO of Capital & Credit Merchant Bank (CCMB), said that despite the many economic challenges, the banking group continued to achieve growth for both Profit and Net-Interest Income (NII) with approximately $284 million and just under $993 million respectively, year-to-date.

Capital & Credit Merchant Bank saw its net profit increase by 20 per cent over the period under review. For the quarter, the merchant bank’s profits advanced to just over $129 million from approximately $107 million for the similar period in 2009.

The CCMB CEO highlighted the 73 per cent improvement in the Cash/Liquid Asset balances of $2.5 billion, up from $1.45 billion in the similar period in 2009 and an increase of 16 per cent in Stockholders’ Equity over the comparative period as a significant area of growth.

Both the CCFG and CCMB Groups recorded major notable improvements in their Non-Interest Expenses as a result of Cost Containment initiatives implement this year. CCFG’s Non-Interest Expense declined by 25 per cent, which stood at just over $901 million for the nine-month period, compared to approximately $1.2 billion for the same period in 2009 while CCMB achieved a reduction of 21 per cent or approximately $836 million for the nine-month period, compared to approximately $1.1 billion for the similar period last year.

Said CCFG Chairman Campbell: “Overall, we are pleased with the results for this quarter… despite the continued challenges of 2010 Capital & Credit remains cautiously optimistic as measures taken on the path of recovery from both the Global and Local economies take positive effect.”