JMMB extends financial lifeline to its retail clients, SMEs
WITH THOUSANDS set to experience the personal impact of a major economic fallout, due to the circumstances surrounding the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis in Jamaica, The JMMB Group has responded by easing some of the weight of this financial burden on its most vulnerable clients.
In response to this crisis, and as part of The JMMB Group’s commitment to see about its clients’ interest, the entity will provide a financial lifeline in the form of moratoriums, extended credit facilities, and the maintenance of its pre-existing ‘no late payments policy’ on loans to those who, it believes, are among its most vulnerable clients. As such, entrepreneurs; individuals working in the tourism and transportation sectors; and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and corporate entities that operate in tourismrelated areas; entertainment; communications and storage; transportation; distribution; manufacturing and construction will all benefit from this special financial lifeline.
Keisha Forbes Ellis, chief executive officer (CEO), JMMB Investments, shares,“The JMMB Group remains committed to partnering with our clients to ensure that we support their sustainability throughout this period, as they remain major contributors to our economy.” Adding, “As such, both JMMB Bank and JMMB Investments will offer our clients a moratorium on their principal and interest payments, or principal payments of their loans, for three and six months, respectively. Thereafter, we will examine our clients’ circumstances, with a view to assisting them with a financial solution that is in their best interest. These offerings will allow those clients the necessary financial space to retool and regroup from any falloff in revenue, which has resulted from the scaling down of operations and, in most instances, shuttering of their businesses temporarily.” In so doing, the company is also seeking to help these individual and business clients to preserve their financial reputation, creditworthiness, and manage their liquidity and cash flow.
PAYMENT HOLIDAYS
According to JMMB, individuals who are employed in the tourism and transportation sectors, and who have been impacted by a job loss, temporary lay-off, or a reduction of income; as well as self-employed persons who have been affected by loss of income, due to the closure of their business, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, are eligible for ‘payment holidays’ – which will see these clients being able to defer the payment of interest and principal on their loans, for up to three months, initially.
In touting the value of partnership to overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis, the CEO notes that the JMMB team has already begun reaching out to a number of clients to discuss their unique circumstances in a bid to strategise and craft a plan with those clients.“
Forbes Ellis adds, “We recognise that these are challenging times and so, in addition to helping our clients to have a plan in place to ease the impending financial burden, we want to extend hope and reassure them that we are committed to overcoming this challenge together as a nation.”
Jerome Smalling, CEO of JMMB Bank, also outlined that JMMB’s business clients (SMEs and large corporate entities) in these vulnerable sectors, who have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis, can also benefit from other credit facilities offered by the bank, including pre-approved, non-revolving lines of credit and pre-approved term loans.
‘The JMMB Group remains committed to partnering with our clients to ensure that we support their sustainability throughout this period, as they remain major contributors to our economy.’