Jun 2008 Financial News

NCB Wealth Division - the best deal makers in town

Jun 06, 2008

The newly created NCB Wealth Division headed by Christopher Williams is aggressively looking to sate the appetite of investors looking to make good on plausible legitimate investments, and to that end have embarked on a blitzkrieg of an advertising campaign.

Speaking exclusively with Caribbean Business Report earlier this week, the managing director of NCB's Wealth Division Christopher Williams said: "We are utilising the success we have garnered over the last five years with NCB Capital Markets and transforming the other areas of the wealth division arm of the NCB Group.

"The corporate market is an area that we feel has been largely underserved and so we went out and recruited Vernon James (formerly DB&G'S top stockbroker) and brought him in as vice-president of Corporate. I worked with Vernon (James) back when I was at DB&G and I remembered how aggressive and technically competent he was and those skills are hard to find in one individual. He always delivers on his proposals. I think he was a little pigeon-holed in his prior role at DB&G, he is more than just a stockbroker."

In four of the last five years NCB Capital Markets has established itself as the country's leading stock brokerage only relinquishing that position to Mayberry Investments last year. Williams says that the aim is to take back its number one spot this year.

"What we have been able to do in the corporate segment is give clients investment options. It's not just about the Repo product, which Jamaicans have been relying on for years. Clients want to see opportunities to enhance their short-term cash flow surpluses. Why? Because many of the corporates have short-term cash flow surpluses and they want to be able to place it and get a good rate and good terms. They also want an institution that is responsive and that's what we have delivered."

Williams points to the fact that his Wealth Division has been able to expand its corporate offering beyond Jamaican borders. It is now strategically targeting corporates right across the region. He says that both James and himself have been developing relationships with both corporate and institutional investors across the Caribbean. Williams sees parts of the Caribbean as still suffering from fiscal imbalances such as Guyana and Jamaica, but he also notes that there are parts that are undergoing an unbelievable historic boom such as Trinidad and Barbados.

"Nevertheless the Caribbean still looks to the region for investment opportunities. The boom in both Trinidad and Barbados is just what the doctor ordered for Jamaica because it provides us with the liquidity support we need to get our act together," surmises the NCB Wealth Division boss.

NCB has gone about steadily establishing its brand in the Caribbean undergoing a number of road shows. The key here is to provide the risk-adjusted returns that clients desire. Here Williams and his team have been successful in pulling a number of clients into Jamaica, raising close to US$150 million.

There are two sides to the corporate arm, one is managing the surplus cash and knowing that if you have money and you want somewhere to place it call NCB Capital Markets, we can give you the best terms. The second is if you need money and you have a project that needs financing call Capital Markets, because when you look at it, no other brokerage house has delivered more deals to the market than us," proclaimed Williams.

Many in the finance area cite NCB Capital Markets' uncanny ability to bring deals to the table. The two latest Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) to come on the scene, namely the REIT and the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE), is being handled by NCB's Wealth Division as the lead broker. This must however take an enormous toll on its staff whom Williams is able to motivate and inspire to give above and beyond themselves.

The introduction of the preference shares into the market was also a first initiated by NCB. The principal protected notes (PPN), another first by NCB Capital Markets, underscores Williams and his team's flair and innovative approach to bringing deals to the market.

"We are good at structuring deals and understanding the market. We have worked hard to build our competences within the organisation. NCB as one of the top two commercial banks has the competence to put deals together and we have been able to transfer that knowledge into our Capital Markets operation, which no one else has been able to do. We are consummate deal makers," declared Williams.

The Managing Director of the Wealth Division draws attention to the fact that NCB was the first big commercial bank in Jamaica to recognise the opportunities in the wealth management industry and go after it. It started that journey five years ago, spawning many imitators today.

"We are building a division that is targeting a market segment. We are putting a team together that goes across two limited liability companies. We have the distribution competence, we continue to dominate in terms of deal structuring, we have put more IPOs and new products together, more private placements, we have worked with the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) and the Financial Services Commission (FSC), we know how to put deals together and get them registered and implemented. We have raised a lot of money for corporates in the market place."


Source:
Al Edwards
The Jamaica Observer
Friday, June 06, 2008

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/html/20080605T230000-0500_136448_OBS_NCB_WEALTH_DIVISION___THE_BEST_DEAL_MAKERS_IN_TOWN.asp