Sabrina N. Gordon, Business Reporter

Wayne Wray, president of First Global Bank, has targeted 100 per cent growth in the bank's loan portfolio this year. - Peta-Gaye Clachar/Staff Photographer

First Global, the minnow among Jamaica's commercial banks, says it intends to double - to $10 billion - its loan portfolio this year and has reorganised to deliver on the promise.

"It is a very aggressive strategy that we have embarked on which requires a more innovative way of achieving targets," says Wayne Wray, the bank's president.

As part of the plan Wray has segregated First Global's former single credit department into three discreet units - corporate, commercial and retail - each headed by a vice-president.

He went to the Treasury Department of First Global's parent company, GraceKennedy, and recruited Paula Barclay to head the corporate credit operation. She joins Michael Willacy, who is in charge of retail loans and Radcliffe Daley, who has responsibility for commercial business.

"The Credit Department, as it stands, did not have the impact," Wray explains. "Splitting it allows each of the VPs in the respective segments to play to their strength, (to) get the business and be in a better position to fulfil target growth."

Even if Wray fulfils his promises to his bosses at GraceKennedy for a 100 per cent growth in loans by December, his bank will still have a minuscule portion of the commercial banking sector's market for debt.

Hardly active

For instance, at the end of 2007 First Global held only 2.6 per cent of the $192 billion in loans carried by the island's six commercial banks. It was ahead only of Citibank NA, which is hardly active in the domestic loan market.

Indeed, the bank with the next small loan portfolio, FirstCaribbean International Bank, at $26.9 billion, had over five times the value of loans at First Global. They all paled against the market leaders, Bank of Nova Scotia ($70.62 billion) and National Commercial Bank ($58.64 billion).