Scotia Group Jamaica Limited’s third-quarter profit rose some 10 per cent to $6.1 billion on stronger lending and higher fee income, less than four weeks before minority shareholders vote on its majority owner’s plan to take the group private.
“Scotia Group delivered a strong performance this quarter,” President and Chief Executive Officer Audrey Tugwell Henry said in a release on Thursday.
She credited the performance to the strength of the group’s “core banking operations” and its “clients”. Net interest income rose 10.3 per cent to $14.02 billion, while net fee and commission income jumped 32.1 per cent to $2.52 billion. Provisions for expected credit losses fell 6.4 per cent to $888.2 million.
Year to date, the profit for the six months ended July reached $16.2 billion from $14.8 billion a year earlier. Revenue excluding credit losses grew 11.4 per cent to $56.4 billion. Other revenue quadrupled to $501.9 million, which the group attributed to insurance proceeds related to Hurricane Melissa and higher gains on the sale of fixed assets. Net insurance revenue fell 3.5 per cent to $2.5 billion.
Net loans rose 16 per cent year on year to $395 billion, with mortgages up 19 per cent and consumer loans up 16 per cent. Deposits by the public grew 11.8 per cent to $577.5 billion, and total assets rose 13.3 per cent to $853.2 billion.
Non-accrual loans increased to $5.3 billion from $4.9 billion but eased to 1.3 per cent of gross loans from 1.4 per cent. The group said that ratio remained below the industry average of 2.2 per cent at June 2026.
Shareholders’ equity rose 18.8 per cent to $174.6 billion, driven mainly by retained profits and a remeasurement of defined-benefit pension plan assets.
The board declared a third-quarter dividend of 45 cents per stock unit, payable on October 22 to shareholders on record at September 30.
Minority shareholders are scheduled to meet on October 7 at the AC Marriott Hotel in St Andrew to vote on the privatisation. Under a scheme of arrangement announced on June 12, Scotiabank Caribbean Holdings Limited would buy the shares it does not already own for $61.50 each in cash. The Barbados-incorporated holding company owns 71.78 per cent of Scotia Group and is ultimately owned by Canada’s Bank of Nova Scotia. At the offer price, the minority stake is worth about US$506 million.
The price represented a premium of about 13 per cent to the 30-trading-day volume-weighted average price of Scotia Group shares up to June 11, the last trading day before the announcement. A committee of independent directors unanimously recommended the deal. The committee had engaged Ernst & Young Services Limited, which provided a valuation and a fairness opinion. Shareholders can choose to be paid in Jamaican or US dollars.
The scheme requires approval from a majority of the minority shareholders present and voting. It also needs at least 75 per cent in value of the minority shareholders present and voting, followed by the sanction of the Supreme Court of Jamaica. If approved, the transaction is expected to close in the fourth calendar quarter of 2026 and would end Scotia Group’s listing on the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
“The proposed transaction is expected to further strengthen Scotiabank’s ability to enhance operational efficiency and strengthen Scotiabank’s agility in responding to market opportunities,” stated the company.
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