JMMB Group Bolsters Diversification Strategy to Drive Growth 

During its recent annual general meeting, JMMB Group CEO, Keith Duncan, shared that in keeping with its smart growth strategy greater focus is being placed on new business lines such as private equity, real estate and payments to drive growth and profitability. The further diversification of the Group’s offerings into these business lines is expected to bolster the Group’s credible performance year to date. 

In giving more insight Duncan noted that the real estate business line is centred on leveraging JMMB’s current real estate holdings, through the creation of real estate development products for sale and/or lease, with the aim to generate revenue for JMMB Group. Currently the company boasts over J$2.6B in its real estate holdings and is in process of finalizing its developments in Downtown Kingston and Liguanea, with plans to afoot for a project in New Kingston. This investment will complement the Group’s other real estate offerings. The build out of this business line is expected to provide an average return on the equity of at least 50%, with the successful completion of real estate development projects.  

Over the next three years, JMMB Group expects to continue to add value to its clients and shareholders with excess of 100,000 square feet of real estate commercial development projects. JMMB Group will also continue to strengthen its land bank, in order to capitalize on properties with strong development and rental potential, eyeing Mandeville as another viable location for further development. 

In setting the context, JMMB Group CEO noted that with the change in the market environment and the reduction of government debt, there is now increased demand for credit to support the growth of the private sector projects through loans, capital markets transactions, private equity and corporate debt – bonds. In response to this gap, for patient capital for especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with high growth potential, JMMB Group has introduced Vertex SME Holdings, a private equity vehicle, managed by JMMB Securities Ltd. Thus far, through this private equity vehicle, investments have been made in Corum Restaurant Group Inc — a quick service operator based in Guyana and Island Car Rental Holdings, a leading car rental company in Jamaica, with other investments in the pipeline. 

Continued focus remains on supporting the growth of SMEs, in keeping with the strategic thrust of the Group to target this segment, outlined Duncan. Pointing to the strides made, he highlighted that the first cohort of 24 SMEs from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, who were a part of the 2-year long JMMB Group SME Accelerator programme have seen increased revenue and improved capacity with the support provided by the resource centre. Additionally, JMMB Group launched it PowHerful Women in Business initiative in July 2023. 

“(Adding) in the last 3 years, we have been able to disburse over J$58.5B to SMEs and corporates, and specifically in the SME segment over J$12B in loans have been disbursed. We have been able to attract the confidence of international agencies to support the funding of these SMES namely: FinDev, IDB Invest and other agencies that have come forward to support our efforts,” Duncan outlined. 

JMMB Money Transfer is looking to become a stronger force within the remittance market through a diversified product suite that will make it more seamless to conduct transactions within this space, having benefitted from major capital investment in its infrastructure over the last few years. As a result, of this investment, “This business line has grown in the past five years, …doubling market share and profitability,” revealed Duncan. This further growth has also been supported by introduction of new products, improved client experience and collaborative partnerships with our international partners. 

In giving details on the new offerings, the JMMB Group head honcho shared that plans are on the way to introduce a cross border service that will accommodate faster and more affordable international payments, to address the pain points that small and medium-sized businesses face in conducting these types of transactions, through its remittance arm.  “We believe this will be a winner for small businesses as they continuously trade, and as our Ministry of Finance said, 80% of our GDP is driven by trade, and therefore if we can affect cross border business by making it more efficient (and cost effective) then I believe we have a winner here.” 
Duncan also revealed that the JMMB Money Transfer (JMMBMT) has been on a drive to expand its suite of services to cater to the needs of a broader cross-section of clients, which has seen JMMBMT forging a partnership with MoneyGram to offer outbound services, and has rolled out the soft launch of its Visa-enabled prepaid card. 

These offerings will deepen the Group’s payment solutions, having entered the payment space through a partnership forged with Norbrook Transaction Services to introduce its closed loop cards in the form of epayment solutions - meal cards and airport cards. 
Looking Ahead 
In keeping with the One Group. One Client. One Experience, JMMB Group will be rolling out its digital solutions across the region. Having introduced its merchant services earlier this year in Jamaica, business clients in Trinidad and Tobago will also benefit from JMMB Bank’s point-of-sale and scan-to-pay offerings; while JMMB Investments (TT) clients will also have access JMMB Moneyline to conduct online transactions 24/7. 

With the closure of the merger and acquisition of Banco Múltiple Bell Bank, S.A. in the Dominican Republic, JMMB Group will now be able to offer commercial banking services in that country, including Visa debit card and ATMs. These offerings will allow clients to access a suite of financial solutions in a seamless and convenient way. 

Gifford Rankine, general manager, digital services, JMMB Group used the occasion to share the good news that the much-anticipated JMMB App first release will be available following, further regulatory approval. He also revealed that several other digital solutions are set to come onboard including the virtual assistant, Johanna, which is in its infancy stage and now allows clients to check account balances and money transfer status, via its website and WhatsApp number.  The JMMB Group digital exec also announced that JMMB Bank is slated to roll-out Visa-enabled cards to business clients to provide easy access to cash locally and overseas. 

These payment systems and digital solutions (point-of-sales, mobile point-of-sales, card services) will form a key part of the Group’s smart growth strategy as it seeks to utilize capital more efficiently and diversify its revenue streams but most importantly meet the needs of clients, especially underserved segments such as SMEs and the underbanked.

JMMB Group Performance Remains Credible, Bolstered by Smart Growth Strategy and Diversification 
 Patrick Ellis, chief financial officer at JMMB Group, during the Group’s financial performance highlights noted that the diversification strategy across the region, business line and segment, continues to ‘pay dividends’. He outlined that even as the investment business line in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic have been negatively impacted by the high interest rate environment, the Group’s regional diversification and earnings from other business lines, coupled with its investment in Sagicor Financial Corporation (SFC), have bolstered the Group’s credible performance thus far. The CFO shared an optimistic outlook for the Group’s performance for the remainder of the year.