NCB Update
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The conglomerate NCB Financial Group Ltd (NCBJ) reported net profit of $5.2 billion for the quarter ended March 2026, down sharply from $17 billion in the same period a year earlier — a decline driven almost entirely by a one-time gain the group booked in the prior year from the sale of a Dutch insurance brokerage unit.
Strip out that disposal gain, which contributed $15.1 billion to consolidated net profit in the March 2025 quarter, and the underlying picture looks markedly different, with the recent quarter showing higher earnings.
The group, which operates National Commercial Bank Jamaica, Clarien Group, and Guardian Holdings across the Caribbean, said strong performance from its wholly owned Jamaican subsidiaries drove the improvement, partly offset by unrealised fair value losses in its equities portfolio.
"Our core business remains solid, supported by the growth in our balance sheet and disciplined cost control," Group CEO Robert Almeida said in the quarterly release.
Net interest income for the six months ended March 2026 rose 6.0 per cent to $41.1 billion, reflecting lower funding costs and growth in interest income from investment securities. Deposits expanded 5.0 per cent year on year to $844 billion while the group's insurance service result — a measure of underwriting profitability — climbed 58 per cent to $15.1 billion for the half year, aided by reinsurance recoveries related to Hurricane Melissa.
Operating expenses fell 6.0 per cent to $48.9 billion for the half-year as the group continued what management described as a disciplined approach to cost management.
Total assets reached $2.43 trillion at March, up 3.0 per cent from a year earlier. Equity attributable to stockholders of the company grew 12 per cent to $203.8 billion.
The board declared an interim dividend of $0.50 per ordinary stock unit, payable June 5, 2026, to stockholders of record as at May 22.
Two internal restructuring transactions were also disclosed. A share-purchase agreement signed in January would transfer NCB (Cayman) Limited to Clarien Bank Limited, while a separate agreement signed in April would move NCB Merchant Bank (Trinidad and Tobago) Limited to Guardian Insurance Limited — both intra-group transactions pending regulatory approval.