- JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
President and CEO of the Bank of Nova Scotia addresses the bank's annual conference at the Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston. Looking on at right is Robert Pitfield, executive vice-president of the Bank of Nova Scotia, Canada.
Ashford W. Meikle, Staff Reporter
THE BANK of Nova Scotia (Jamaica) Limited (BNSJ) will be growing its wealth management arm as well as introducing new products as part of its strategic direction for the next five years, says managing director and CEO, William E. Clarke.
"Wealth management will be a major focus for Scotiabank in the coming years. We have a large customer base and we will be implementing strategies to increase our share of wallet of our existing customers," noted Mr. Clarke as he addressed shareholders at the company's annual general meeting (AGM) on Friday at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.
RETAINING THE NUMBER ONE POSITION
Declaring that Scotiabank would not surrender its number one position, Clarke assured shareholders that BNSJ would "retain [its] leading position, grow market share and increase profitability." And, as part of this strategy, the bank would give attention to:
Customer services. Products and markets.Wealth management and investments.Organisation and technology.Brand and image.Human resources.Scotiabank is the largest of the country's four commercial banks. According to Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) statistics up to the end of September last year, BNSJ had the lion's share of customer deposits about 42 per cent. With regard to total loans and advances net of provisions, Scotiabank, with a 45 per cent stake, controlled the largest slice of the pie.
At Friday's AGM, Clark outlined that the bank would leverage, "the Scotiabank brand to build, scale and grow [its] wealth management base and use [BNS's] superior research and analytical capabilities to ensure [the bank] targets the right customers."
The CEO acknowledged that, given the changing dynamics in the retail banking industry, Scotiabank has not been aggressive in developing its investment business.
"There are some players in the market who believe that we may have surrendered the investment market to them and we might have done so unwittingly," he reflected. To counter this perception, Mr. Clarke revealed, 2006 "will see a shift in Scotia Jamaica Investments Limited's focus towards investments, wealth management and wealth creation, with increased product offerings, visibility in the market and an expansion in its network of financial advisers."
PAYING ATTENTION TO CUSTOMER SERVICE
The CEO acknowledged that the bank needed to pay attention to customer service. "We continue to have periodic problems with long lines in our branches and inconsistent service at a number of our customer touch points." To address this, the bank, said Mr. Clarke, would upgrade its customer service by retraining its staff.
The BNSJ head paid tribute to the bank's credit officers noting that "Scotiabank's credit policy continues to be outstanding both by international standards and when compared with our local peers. In fact, our competitors are so confident in our credit risk review and adjudication process that they target our customers with offers to switch their loan balances, instead of seeking to grow their portfolio by product offering and prudent risk assessment. They are sure that if BNSJ accepts the risk then it must be a good risk."
A highlight of the AGM was the announcement by Mr. Clarke of an undergraduate scholarship in memory of deputy chairman, Mayer Matalon, who has sat on the Scotiabank's board for the last forty years. The scholarship will be tenable at the Department of Management Studies at the University of the West Indies.
