By Robert Hart, Staff ReporterA DECISION has been made for the People's Co-operative (PC) Banks to merge their operations into one national bank.
Senator Norman Grant, president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), revealed the proposed move during Friday's sitting of the Senate.
Speaking during the debate on the Bill to amend the Agricultural Credit Board Act, Senator Grant said that among the aims of the new National PC Bank would be to sustain economic growth within rural communities and to provide for the financial service needs of small and medium scale enterprises (farmers and non-farmers). It will also provide attractive benefits and employ staff as well as create a more professional image for the bank and its branches.
RAISE EQUITY
He said the National PC Bank would also raise its equity to loan ratio and improve the funds borrowed, as well as return full independence to the banks, making them self-sustaining and profitable.
In addition, Senator Grant said, the loan policy would be diversified to achieve a less risky portfolio and yield a higher net income, with new lending parameters of 40 per cent for the agricultural sector, 30 per cent for the business sector and 30 per cent for personal loans.
Emphasising that the PC banks were no longer the only financial institutions through which small farmers could obtain credit, he noted that the new entity would have to "embark on an aggressive marketing campaign to firmly establish itself as the premier community bank, dedicated to serving its members and customers by providing products and services to meet their banking needs."
