With the swipe of a finger across a screen, the NCB Financial Group Limited (NCB Group) ceremoniously began trading on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) causing the old identifier for National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCB) to cease trading on the JSE. The ceremonial digital renaming exercise on March 22 at the JSE was being done for the first time in that manner in Jamaica.. Holding a market capitalisation of $152.57 billion dollars, the newly created NCB Financial Group Ltd. is now the company with the largest market cap on the Exchange. It was incorporated in April 2016 to be the official holding company for NCB and, on March 16, officially began trading under the symbol NCBFG. However, it cannot be included in the JSE Select Index like its predecessor (NCB) until its performance has been tracked through to the end of the year. This particular index tracks the performance of the 15 most liquid companies in trading. The move comes against the background of provisions in the Banking Services Act regarding financial holding company (FHC) licenses, which gives a deposit taking institution the option of operating as its own FHC or as a subsidiary of a new FHC. The bank chose the latter as the more advantageous option for future growth, with shareholders receiving ordinary shares in NCBFG, in exchange for their shares in NCB. These have been listed for equal value to those previously held in NCB. Group Managing Director, Patrick Hylton, noted that the introduction of the NCB Financial Group Limited is also in line with the Group’s recently instituted 2020 strategy, NCB 2.0 - Faster, Simpler Stronger. “Today, we embrace yet another significant hallmark in our continued long-term dance with progress via necessary change. Our assessments have shown that, in order for us to maintain the progress we have made towards growth locally and regionally, designating a separate FHC that is able to hold non-banking assets was best. This decision is consistent with market standards and will prove beneficial to our general stakeholders,” Hylton said. Having been nominated by NCB, NCBFG was used to acquire a 29.99 per cent interest in Guardian Holdings Limited (GHL). The recent scheme has the effect of giving NCBFG shareholders (formerly holders of the NCB stock) significant interest in GHL. General Manager, JSE, Marlene Street Forrest congratulated the company on its professional approach to its internal reorganisation, which allowed investors, JSE and the general market to keep abreast of changes. “At the Exchange, we encourage our listed companies to not only focus on the financial reporting which is material, and a critical requirement for listed companies, but to ensure that other material information, critical to investors making informed decisions, are reported to the market. NCB understood and acted on this requirement, which is shown by the successful completion of the Scheme of Arrangement among NCB, NCB Financial Group and their shareholders,” Street Forrest said. A scheme of arrangement is a court-approved agreement between a company and its shareholders (and possibly creditors) facilitating decisions around major reorganisation processes that may alter shareholder or creditor rights. For the 2015/2016 financial year, NCB retained its position as the top financial institution in Jamaica based on assets and net profits after tax. It surpassed the J$600B mark in assets, as well as the J$200B mark in deposits, both of which are firsts for any company in Jamaica. To build on that momentum, the almost 180 year old institution will continue to maximise on its regional interests through a combination of strategic investments, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions.