NCB Capital Markets Limited (NCBCML) has issued a $12.5 billion bond, offering investors 5.75 per cent on their investment. The offer closes on March 26, 2018. This issuance comes on the heels of NCBCML receiving an initial credit ratings of CariBBB+ from the Caribbean Information and Credit Rating Services Limited (CariCRIS), on its regional rating scale and jmAA- on the Jamaican national scale. The second consecutive positive rating following the jmA+ it received last year. “The regional scale local currency rating indicates that the level of creditworthiness of this obligation, adjudged in relation to other debt obligations in the Caribbean is adequate,” says CariCRIS. With its main objective to assess the creditworthiness of debt issuing-entities in relation to other entities, CariCRIS also says that NCBCML’s bond, when compared to other debt obligations in Jamaica is high. Capital investment bonds are investment plans designed for people who are willing to invest a minimum sum of money over a period of time, with the potential for capital growth and income by accessing a range of assets. Capital investment bonds do not give ownership rights to investors but instead provide consistent and steady income, which offers investors the flexibility to access a wide range of funds across various sectors, while diversifying their investment portfolios. “We are excited to be issuing this bond to investors, giving them the opportunity to tap into the market, almost risk-free,” says Steven Gooden, NCBCM CEO. “Since capital investment bonds come with a wealth of perks that make investment in them so convenient, including the option to partially surrendered your policy so you can enjoy regular withdrawals or the option to invest in phases, we look forward to the support for this $12.5 billion bond. This being our second high rating, persons can trust that their investment will be worth the returns. Like any other bond, this one assures that investors have a protection mechanism by which their capital investment portfolio is secured in the case of economic decline in the market. Furthermore, when there is an upturn in the market, our investors can count on reaping the benefits derived from interest accrued,” he explains. CariCRIS also assigned a stable outlook on the ratings owing to its expectations for further macroeconomic improvements in Jamaica over the next 12-15 months, this being NCBCML’s main market. Furthermore, CariCRIS believes that increased revenue growth over the stated period, is formidable as NCBCML continues its ongoing regional expansion into the wider Caribbean, namely its operations in the Cayman Islands, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Jamaica. The CariCRIS report states: “In the Caribbean, NCBCML is an emerging player in the financial services industry with subsidiaries in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), the Cayman Islands and Barbados; for the financial year ended September 30, 2017, 64% of NCBCML’s profit after tax was earned from these [regional] subsidiaries.” What is more, in addition to regional penetration, the report says NCBCML has comfortable capitalisation allowing it to increase its tangible net worth by 19.9 percent to J$30.4 billion up to December 2017. Healthy financial performance also showed that the investment brokerage increased its profit after tax by 6.9 percent, that is J$306.4 million, bringing its profits to J$4.8 billion. This growth is attributed to new business generated mainly from its Barbados subsidiary.