Fitch maintains negative watch on NCB Jamaica securitisation notes
Published:Sunday | February 1, 2026 | 12:08 AM
Fitch Ratings maintained its negative watch on BBB- rated bonds issued by two National Commercial Bank entities, citing continued uncertainty over Hurricane Melissa’s impact on the country’s largest bank.
“Fitch maintains rating watch negative on NCBJ’s future flow programmes,” stated the rating agency on Thursday.
The rating agency said in a notice, that it is keeping the watch on notes issued by Jamaica Merchant Voucher Receivables Ltd. (JMVR) and Jamaica Diversified Payment Rights Co. (JDPR) until it resolves a similar watch placed on NCB Jamaica’s BB- long-term issuer default rating in November.
The Rating Watch “continues to reflect the uncertainty related to Hurricane Melissa’s impact on the bank,” Fitch said. The Category-5 hurricane primarily affected western Jamaica, where NCB has high exposure.
Despite the negative watch, coverage ratios remain strong.
“The transaction can withstand a drop in flows of approximately 91 per cent and still cover the maximum quarterly debt service obligation, highlighting the strength of the flows. Fitch will continue to monitor the performance of cash flows,” Fitch added.
Fitch continues to evaluate the impact of the hurricane on NCBJ.
“The event presents a significant challenge due to the bank’s high exposure to the most affected areas,” stated the report.
JMVR is backed by future flows from Visa International and MasterCard International related to merchant vouchers acquired by NCB in Jamaica. JDPR is backed by US dollar-denominated diversified payment rights, electronic messages used by financial institutions to instruct NCB to make payments to beneficiaries.
The securitisation programmes currently have US$517.1 million outstanding as of December, representing 7.9 per cent of NCB’s total funding and 20.3 per cent of non-deposit funding based on September consolidated financials. Fitch called the ratio moderate and expects the programmes to remain a primary long-term funding source for NCB, limiting potential rating uplifts.
The ratings are sensitive to changes in NCB’s credit quality and the performance of the securitised business lines. Significant declines in cash flows could trigger downgrades even with current strong coverage ratios, Fitch said.