Jamaica Mortgage Bank To Offer Services To The Diaspora

Photo above: General Manager of Jamaica Mortgage Bank, Mr. Courtney Wynter, addresses a JIS Think Tank on December 9. Photo by: JIS photographer.

By Peta-Gay Hodges
JIS Staff Writer

Members of the Jamaica Diaspora will soon be able to access the services of the Jamaica Mortgage Bank (JMB) when investing in housing in their home country.

The bank will be launching a new service that is expected to focus on the technical aspect of construction financing.

Speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’, on December 9, General Manager of the JMB, Courtney Wynter, explained that the bank has, over the years, amassed significant knowledge and expertise in mortgage and construction financing, which would be useful in providing project management services to persons living abroad. This would include close monitoring of construction projects by the bank to ensure optimal output.

“Many retired people want to build a house in Jamaica. We see where they have had various issues and what we want to offer is project management services to ensure that when they return home, all is in place,” Mr. Wynter said.

He explained that by entering the project management market, the JMB would be tapping into one of the strengths of the organization, which it has developed in its over 43 years of existence in the housing financing market.

The General Manager added, the JMB would also be offering the service to other institutions that offer financing, but are not as strong on the monitoring and technical side.

Meanwhile, Director of Business Operations at JMB, Hecton Hemans, outlined some of the critical success factors of the institution and how the entity believes that it can assist others in this area.

“The bank carries out a rigorous project risk analysis and technical evaluation exercise during the application and decision process for mortgage and construction financing. When projects are approved, there is continuous monitoring and risk mitigation, and control mechanisms are put in place,” he said.

He added that these will measure the critical elements, functions and milestones in the project implementation process.

Mr. Hemans informed that the bank also provides technical and financial oversight of loan origination and housing development, not currently employed elsewhere in the wider construction financing market.

“We are promoting our technical services and a partnership type arrangement with all clients to achieve a higher project implementation success rate, engender trust, customer retention and repeat business,” he said.