Keith is an Executive Director and the Group Chief Executive Officer of the JMMB Group of Companies and has responsibility for overall performance and charting the strategic direction of the Group.

His financial expertise has not only benefited the JMMB Group but also the Jamaican financial sector. Keith served as President of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) for the period 2019 – 2022, which was during unprecedented times of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

He also served as a Vice-President of the PSOJ throughout 2013 – 2015, and is currently Co-Chair of PROJECT STAR – A partnership for social & economic transformation In Jamaica. Keith Duncan is a Past President of the Jamaica Securities Dealers Association (JSDA) and continues to contribute his service to Jamaica through various roles, including his current appointment as Chairman of the Economic Programme and Oversight Committee (EPOC).

He is also the immediate Past Chairman of the National Information and Communications Technology Advisory Council (NICTAC), which provides advisory services to the Ministry of Science, Energy and Technology in relation to its’ ICT Portfolio.

Under his leadership, the JMMB Group was conferred with the American Foundation for the University of the West Indies (AFUWI) Award for Excellence in Business Leadership in February 2020 and the prestigious ‘Best of Chamber Award’ from the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce in March 2011. Known for his commitment to youth development, Keith served as Chairman of the National Youth Service from 2003 to 2009.

He worked closely with the respective boards and teams to fulfil the mission of creating and reforming Jamaica’s youth to become purposeful citizens.

Mr. Duncan is also a founding member of the YUTE Programme in Jamaica (Youth Upliftment through Employment).

In 2020, Keith was awarded the National Honour, the Order of Distinction, in the rank of Commander, by the Government of Jamaica for his exceptional service in Finance, Business, Youth Empowerment and Community Development.

In April 2022, Keith received the International Achievement Award from The American Friends of Jamaica (AFJ) for his leadership and work in National Development. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), a professional financial designation.

The Financial Year 2023/2024 Represented An Inflection Point For The JMMB Group.

Group Results, Highlights And Achievements Credible Performance while Navigating an Extraordinary Year

Financial Year 2023/2024 has been a year of transition for JMMB Group Limited (“JMMBGL”, “JMMBGroup” or“the Group”), marked by persistent challenges from the operating environment and its impact on its business performance, as well as exceptional positive and negative one-off occurrences; overall resulting in strong bottom line performance of J$11.8B in net profits with a return on average equity (ROE) of 25.53%.

Though the global environment has been characterized by uncertainty, high inflation, elevated interest rates and illiquid market conditions across all jurisdictions, the Group remained steadfast in its commitment to its stakeholders due to the effectiveness of its diversification strategy. The persistence of high interest rates and low liquidity has tested the resilience of financial markets, yet the JMMB Group has navigated these challenges with the deepening of its “smart growth” strategy and continued commitment to its clients and shareholders to deliver strong and sustainable returns and exceptional service.

Financial Year 2023/24 was a year of significant milestones and achievements. Throughout the year, the Group benefited from extraordinary gains from its associate company- Sagicor Financial Company Limited (SFC).

The Group moved into a new territory – Barbados, where the local investment entity is in the early stages of building out its market presence, having secured its Securities License in October 2023.

In the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago, the Group expanded its footprint with the opening of four new branches between the two countries, deepening their presence to increase market share.

Complementing the Group’s physical expansion was the rollout of digital transformation channels and solutions to drive market reach, client experience and efficiency.

The JMMB Group continues to have the best interest of its clients at heart, founded on its principle of unconditional love, birthed from its co-founder, Joan Duncan, whose ultimate dream was to ensure that she built a company that exemplified this internally amongst each other and to those that it serves.

The Group, therefore, continues to create and provide a wide array of financial solutions that are a win-win for its clients, at whichever stage they may be at along their financial journey.

Extraordinary Net Profits

The JMMB Group made J$11.8B in net profits driven by a one-off extraordinary gain from an Associate Company.

In 2019, the JMMB Group strategically invested in SFC to further diversify its business model and revenue streams. Currently, the Group holds a 23.62% stake in SFC, making it the Company’s single largest shareholder. SFC provides the Group with country and business line diversification, operating in 21 countries and as a major player predominantly within the Insurance industry. This was particularly beneficial to the Group in the adverse operating environment, which negatively impacted the investment business of financial services in the region.

The JMMB Group’s investment in SFC contributed J$20.3B in Share of profit of associate, which was significantly driven by one-off gains on its acquisition of the ivari Insurance Company in Canada. The US$250M or 22.52% acquisition of SFC in 2019 has proven to be a good diversification investment that continues to provide solid returns for the JMMB Group.

However, the total contribution from business lines and share of profit from SFC were tempered by prudent loan loss provisioning of J$12.6B for a startup greenfield operation in the Energy sector, which was rated Investment grade by CariCRIS and, as such, was an allowable asset which received wide support from the financial sector in the region.

Group Strategic Outlook – Vision 2026

From a macroeconomic perspective, the Group continues to monitor the outlook on inflation and interest rate policy decisions by the US Federal Reserve and central banks across the region. In its June 2024 meeting, the Federal Reserve kept its interest rate unchanged, which it has since July 2023, and has projected only one rate cut for the remainder of 2024, down from its March forecast that called for three reductions. With that said, the Group expects that monetary policy will begin to loosen and that there could be interest rate reductions by the US Federal Reserve, Bank of Jamaica and the Central Bank of the Dominican Republic. These initial interest rate cuts could be followed with further moderate reductions in interest rates, which will be positive for financial markets and augur well for the JMMB Group’s financial performance over the short to medium term.

Inorganic Growth

The Group continues to manage M&A opportunities that could potentially deliver long-term sustainable returns to the Group. This inorganic growth strategy continues to look for opportunities to further diversify the Group across business lines and territories. Regarding the most recent October 2022 Bell Bank acquisition, JMMB Bank in DR has transitioned into a commercial bank.

The team remains focused on unlocking value in this business by deepening client partnership, credit risk and collections processes as they move forward. As is customary, the Group will inform the public if it has undertaken any new opportunities in this regard, once it is legally permitted to do so.

Rising to the Challenges, Delivering Value

The financial year 2023/2024 represented an inflection point for the JMMB Group. The Group continued to face the strong headwinds posed by the high interest rates globally and restrictive monetary policies in two jurisdictions, as well as low market liquidity in all markets, which would have constrained the growth of the Company. Nevertheless, the Group demonstrated its resilience to deliver credible results because of its diversification strategy.

During the financial year, the team initiated and began the acceleration of strategic imperatives needed to realign the business, especially in Jamaica, where the Investments business was significantly impacted by high interest rates and illiquidity market conditions.

Going forward, the Group expects that the economic climate will remain uncertain, potentially due to geopolitical events and natural disasters. Notwithstanding, the Group remains confident in its people, knowledge, and expertise to navigate any potential challenges that may present themselves. With the changes implemented to strengthen the sustainability of the business, the team remains optimistic that it will deliver another year of value to all its stakeholders.

In closing, the Group would like to thank its clients, team members, shareholders, and partners for their unwavering support and trust in the JMMB Group. Together, the team will continue to build on its successes and pursue new opportunities for growth and impact.
Keith Duncan, CD Group Chief Executive Officer