FCB hails Sangre Grande as growing financial hub

Faced with a challenging and competitive market, First Citizens bank (FC) continues to generate profits, said Robin Lewis, general manager of retail banking. “Last year we were named Bank of the Year for 2012 by the renowned Banker Magazine, and this is the third occasion this title has been bestowed on us since 2005. Success is not just about awards, it is about consistent profitability and solid balance sheets.

“Profit before tax increased by 2.7 per cent from $688 million to $714 million. Profit after tax amounted to $448 million and our total assets increased. Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s maintained the Group’s investment grade rating of triple B plus BAA 1. In this environment, to maintain your grade and rating is extremely difficult. This trend demonstrates our institutional strength in a rapidly growing and competitive  market,” he said.

Lewis spoke on behalf of First Citizens Group chief executive officer Larry Nath at Thursday’s 30th anniversary of the bank’s Sangre Grande branch. Branch manager Marlon Sealy spoke about the performance of the Sangre Grande outlet. “This branch has been performing very well. We have grown the portfolio, whether it is the loans portfolio or others, and our delinquency percentages are continuing to decrease,” he said.

Sealy attributed the branch’s strong performance to the hard work and customer oriented performance of the banking team. “The branch is in the top five in the FCB network. We are very focused and know where we want to be. We want the branch to be the best in the network,” he said.

Sealy said the town of Sangre Grande is a growing financial and economic centre and the bank expects further growth in that part of the country. “Sangre Grande is a hub for Mayaro, Toco and other places in the east. It is place that is growing. There is a lot of potential. There is the quarrying industry here. People are also opening their own businesses and it will keep growing,” he said.