JMMB signs on to DBJ’s Credit Enhancement Facility
JMMB Bank became the second financial institution to sign on to the Development Bank of Jamaica’s (DBJ) redesigned Credit Enhancement Facility (CEF) on Monday, November 18, 2019 at the DBJ’s offices. JMMB Bank Chief Executive Officer Jerome Smalling and DBJ Managing Director Milverton Reynolds signed the agreement between the two parties as JMMB Group CEO Keith Duncan and JMMB Country-SME Specialist Kevin Foreman looked on.
“We are really very happy to have JMMB on board and we are very confident that this product that we are introducing will be extraordinarily successful,” said Reynolds. “JMMB will be utilising it for their lending to their SMEs.”
Smalling said, “This is consistent with the JMMB way and the JMMB commitment to our client base. This programme will go a far way in helping us to assist regular Jamaicans to realise their goals as they pursue
their independent businesses.” Acknowledging the issues plaguing the SME sector, he said, “We need to get money into the hands of these small businesses so they can help the Jamaican economy to grow.”
The CEF is a partial loan guarantee that helps micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) without enough collateral to access loans from financial institutions. DBJ has now redesigned the CEF to better support its lending partners – the Approved Financial Institutions (AFIs) and Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) – in serving the MSME sector.
an automated electronic management information system
to facilitate real-time approvals,
speedy claims settlements as well as simplify administration
and reporting by lending institutions.
The CEF is available to viable enterprises and projects that earn less than $425 million in revenue per annum, are tax compliant and have good credit history. It supplements existing collateral, allows MSMEs to access credit for expansion and reduces the risk for the AFIs and MFIs who are lending.
Since its inception in 2009, the CEF has facilitated loans for 568 MSMEs, totaling $7.82 billion, with a 2,266
new jobs created to date.
The DBJ falls under the purview of the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, and is the lead development financing organisation in the country, with a core focus of providing financing options to entrepreneurs through all phases of development and the business life cycle.