Business

• Senior strategists staying put

Adrian Stokes and Jason Morris, senior strategists at Jamaica Money Market Brokers are not moving to Victoria Mutual Wealth Management Limited after all. Sources had earlier said that they were tipped to join the wealth-management team at Victoria Mutual Building Society but that organisation has since issued a statement saying that they would not coming there.

• NCB hires product growth officer

Just two weeks after National Commercial Bank (NCB) said it was cutting senior staff to keep the lid on expenses in a tight operating environment, the banking entity has appointed newcomer to the group, Nadeen Matthews, as part of its senior management team with responsibility for group product development and strategic planning officer. The appointment took effect last week, February 15.

While appearing to go against the grain of the staff numbers and cost-cutting pronouncement, the new hire nevertheless fits into the bank's declared plan of aggressively driving new products and employing a more strategic approach to growing income and profits in a tight market.

Matthews, with several years of experience under her belt, was previously employed to the Atlanta, Georgia-based consultant firm, Mckinsey and Company in the United States (US) as a senior associate.

Educated at Wharton University, Pennsylvania in the US, where she obtained an MBA specialising in marketing, Matthews also spent four year at JPMorgan, a global financial-services firm which deals in asset management, investment banking, private banking, treasury and securities services, as well as commercial banking.

She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in financial economics with a minor in Spanish.

On February 12, Peter Quinn, group chief information officer left the company, with Jennifer Dewdney Kelly, group chief compliance officer and company secretary slated to leave at the end of this month.

For the quarter ended December 2009, NCB's operating expenses increased by 7.9 per cent due primarily, its managing director, Patrick Hylton said, to mushrooming staff costs, which jumped 16.2 per cent last year.

• Schnoor is executive VP

Anya Schnoor has been promoted to the post of executive vice-president, wealth management and insurance from her previous role of senior vice-president, wealth management of the Scotiabank Group.

In her new role, Schnoor, who is also chief executive officer of Scotia DBG Investments, will be working closely with Scotiabank's international wealth-management and international insurance groups developing an integrated investment, insurance and private-banking business, while coordinating the implementation across Scotiabank's retail banking platform in Jamaica.

"As one of Jamaica's youngest chief executive officer, Anya has led the successful integration of Scotia DBG Investments into the Scotiabank Group. At the same time, she has overseen continued expansion of Scotia Life's product line and growth in its sales force," said Bruce Bowen, president and chief executive officer of Scotia Group Jamaica at the time of making the appointment.

"Anya has done a tremendous job building out our Wealth Management business in Jamaica over the past four years. Her knowledge of the industry combined with her strong leadership skills have been key to our success in Jamaica," added Dan Wright, senior vice-president international wealth management for Scotiabank in Canada.

Schnoor has over 17 years experience in the financial industry, having joined the Scotia Group in 2006. Schnoor who holds an MBA from Barry University and a B.A. in finance and international business from Florida International University has also been serving as president of the Jamaica Security Dealers Association for the past three years.