Q3 2026 Barita Investments Ltd Earnings Call

September 2, 2026

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Speaker #2: Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for taking the time to join us here today for Barita Beats, Barita's investment forum. My name is Therese Kettle, Senior Vice President.

Terise Kettle: Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for taking the time to join us here today for The Barita Beat, Barita's Investment Forum. My name is Terise Kettle, Senior Vice President, Investment Banking here at Barita Investments Limited, and I will be your moderator for this afternoon session. Today, we are looking forward to breaking down Barita's Q3 financial performance, published on 17 August 2026, on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. We are going to be sharing with you some drivers of our financial performance and providing you with key updates as it relates to our business' operations, its expansion, and integration. Ladies and gentlemen, today we are going to have a conversation, and to help us to have that conversation, we have Mr. Ramon Small-Ferguson, Chief Executive Officer of Barita Investments Limited and Managing Director of Barita Unit Trusts Management Company Limited.

Speaker #2: Investment banking here at Barita Investments Limited, and I will be your moderator for this afternoon's session. Today we are looking forward to breaking down Barita's third quarter financial performance, published on August 17, 2026, on the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

Speaker #2: We're going to be sharing with you some drivers of our financial performance, and providing you with key updates as they relate to our business's operations, expansion, and integration.

Speaker #2: Ladies and gentlemen, today we’re going to have a conversation, and to help us have that conversation, we have Mr. Ramon Small-Ferguson, Chief Executive Officer of Barita Investments Limited, and Managing Director of Barita Unit Trust Management Company Limited.

Speaker #2: We also have Mr. Steven Fillibert, Group Chief Financial Officer, and Mr. Ricardo Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Barita Fund Managers Limited and Senior Vice President, Asset Management and Research.

Terise Kettle: We also have Mr. Stephen Phillibert, Group Chief Financial Officer, and Mr. Richardo Williams, Chief Executive Officer of Barita Fund Managers Limited and Senior Vice President, Asset Management and Research. At the end of the conversation, we want to ensure that you understand who exactly is Barita Investments Limited. What do we do? How is the business transforming itself? What are some of the key activities that we are carrying out and that we are about to carry out to make your money work for you? As always, please feel free to submit your questions via the question and answer chat, and we will ensure that they are answered at the end of the presentation. I will now invite our Group Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Stephen Phillibert, to walk us through our financial performance. Stephen?

Speaker #2: At the end of the conversation, we want to ensure that you understand exactly who Barita Investments Limited is, what we do, how the business is transforming itself, and what some of the key activities are that we are carrying out and are about to carry out to make your money work for you.

Speaker #2: As always, please feel free to submit your questions via the question and answer chat, and we will ensure that they are answered at the end of the presentation.

Speaker #2: I'll now invite our Group Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Steven Fillibert, to walk us through our financial performance. Steven.

Speaker #7: Thank you very much, Therese. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Let me just bring up the slide here, and then we can get rolling. All right.

Stephen Phillibert: Thank you very much, Terise. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Let me just bring up the slide here, then we can get rolling. All right. Here we go. I will be taking you through our Q3, our quarter ended 30 June, and our nine-month year to date. We first have here a snapshot of the results. It is showing us net operating revenue at JMD 5.2 billion. That is up 95%, relative to JMD 2.7 billion in the prior year. We also have net profit after tax up 24%, JMD 1.3 billion versus JMD 1.1 billion, and that is 24% up, equivalent 24% up on earnings per share to JMD 1.10 versus JMD 0.89 in the prior year. Net interest income has continued to show an improving trend within the quarter, up 9% to JMD 112 million relative to JMD 103 million in the prior year. Gain on investments up to JMD 4 billion from JMD 1 billion in the prior year. That is 285%. That is the most significant driver of the P&L, the results in this quarter. Operating profit was up to JMD 2.5 billion from JMD 1.4 billion. That is 79%. We will get a bit more into the details of that after I look at the nine-month results. The year-to-date results are showing us about JMD 10.1 billion in net operating revenue, versus just under JMD 6.3 billion, about a 60% increase. Below that or comprising that, net interest income has more than doubled, 116% up to JMD 1.05 billion from JMD 485 million in the prior year. Fees and commissions, roughly flat, just over JMD 3 billion in both cases. Gain on investment activities, as I mentioned, that is a big driver this time around. We are up to JMD 5.9 billion rounded from JMD 2.3 billion rounded, up a little over 150%. FX translation and trading, that one is down, but it is ultimately a small number. It is not really a significant driver of the results. On the expense side, we are reflecting up 80%. I will get into some of the details of that, but, I think it is important to highlight the fact. Well, three things primarily. The first is that there are two non-recurring items that have a major role to play in that increase. First is a tech impairment that happened prior to this quarter. That is an item that we do not expect to see again. We also have ECL charges amounting to JMD 1.2 billion that were taken within Q3. Finally, of course, we have now the consolidation of the results of Barita Fund Managers into the group, which we would not have had in the comparable period last year. The share of associates results, we have a loss of just over half a billion on that, relative to JMD 130 million loss in the prior year. We also believe that is not something that ought to be recurring. Ultimately, net profit after tax for the nine months, JMD 2.7 billion relative to JMD 2.2 billion, up 20%. Similarly up 20% on earnings per share to JMD 2.25 versus JMD 1.87. All right, so revenue mix. Because of the outsized gain on investments line, that is up to 58% now of the overall revenue mix, as you can see in the pie chart on the left. Coming after that is the fees and commissions income at about 30%, and then net interest income at 10%. Importantly, we think that the gain on investments line is driven by significant items that tend to be a little lumpy. So we are not expecting that that level at 58% will hold as a portion of the income mix. On the right-hand side, we have the delta chart. So it is showing the movement in the various line items that accrete to the overall movement in net operating income. The largest driver by far, as we had mentioned, is the investment gains, just under JMD 3.6 billion up year on year, or an increase of about 157%. Then the net interest income, while it looks quite a bit smaller, it is up JMD 564 million. It is important to recognize it still represents a gain of 116% year on year. So we have spoken a few times now about the underlying macro drivers for that line item. Operating expenses. I have covered some of what is on this slide before. I think it is important to think of these expenses in a normalized way. That is to say, to take note of the items which are non-recurring and to understand the trajectory of expenses without those effects. So we see here the bar chart at the bottom has revenue. Forgive me, staff costs up to JMD 1.3 billion from just under JMD 1.2 billion. Important to note that the effect of consolidating BFM will have increased that as well as the administration expenses. So that is part of the delta that you are seeing. Under the administration expenses, we also have the impact of that tech charge, as I mentioned previously. So there is information commentary to the right of that bar chart that indicates that if you normalize against that effect, the year over year is up 16%. When you think of staff and admin costs combined, the net increase normalized for that item is 14%. That 14% itself is chiefly driven by absorbing the BFM acquisition. So on that normalized basis, we believe that the cost discipline that we have spoken to in recent quarters still obtains, even though you have to make some considerations against the headline number in order to see that effectively. We also have captured it in terms of the efficiency ratio. So in the top right of the slide, you will see the efficiency ratio at 57.6% before that adjustment that I spoke to. Once you make that adjustment, it is actually sitting at 48.8% versus 51.4% prior. So it would actually reflect downwards. The efficiency ratio is perhaps a better way to think of it because whereas on the cost side you have the addition to expenses caused by the consolidation of the BFM acquisition, on the revenue side that is balanced out because you are also picking up revenue from that entity. So the efficiency ratio is measuring both things. It is giving due consideration to both effects. Then we will close by looking at the balance sheet movements, just some of the headline numbers and capital strength. So total assets up to JMD 183 billion. That is up 22% relative to the last year end. Liabilities up 27% to JMD 145 billion. Shareholder's equity up 8% and so forth. So the total assets, total liabilities movements, we expect to see growth there again because you are now consolidating in another entity. So this is not surprising at all. Capital adequacy, 26.3% relative to an industry average of 20%, and a regulatory minimum of 10%. We continue to be strongly capitalized. That closes the financial review slides. I will hand back to Terise. I think you are going to introduce.

Speaker #7: Here we go. So I'll be taking you through our third quarter—our quarter ended June 30th—and our nine-month year to date. So, we first have here a snapshot of the results.

Speaker #7: It's showing us net operating revenue at $5.2 billion. That's up 95%, relative to $2.7 billion in the prior year. We also have net profit after tax up 24% — $1.3 billion versus $1.1 billion — and that's 24% up, equivalent to 24% up on earnings per share to $1.10 versus $0.89 in the prior year.

Speaker #7: Net interest income has continued to show an improving trend within the quarter, up 9% to $112 million, relative to $103 million in the prior year.

Speaker #7: Gain on investments up to $4 billion from $1 billion in the prior year. That’s a 285% increase. That’s the most significant driver of the P&L results.

Stephen Phillibert: Gain on investments up to JMD 4 billion from JMD 1 billion in the prior year. That is 285%. That is the most significant driver of the P&L, the results in this quarter. Operating profit was up to JMD 2.5 billion from JMD 1.4 billion. That is 79%. We will get a bit more into the details of that after I look at the nine-month results. The year-to-date results are showing us about JMD 10.1 billion in net operating revenue, versus just under JMD 6.3 billion, about a 60% increase. Below that or comprising that, net interest income has more than doubled, 116% up to JMD 1.05 billion from JMD 485 million in the prior year. Fees and commissions, roughly flat, just over JMD 3 billion in both cases. Gain on investment activities, as I mentioned, that is a big driver this time around. We are up to JMD 5.9 billion rounded from JMD 2.3 billion rounded, up a little over 150%.

Speaker #7: In this quarter, operating profit was up to $2.5 billion from $1.4 billion—so that's up 79%. We'll get a bit more into the details of that.

Speaker #7: After a look at the nine-month results—so, the year-to-date results are showing us about $10.1 billion in net operating revenue, versus just under $6.3 billion, about a 60% increase.

Speaker #7: And below that, our net interest income has more than doubled—up 116% to $1.05 billion from $485 million in the prior year.

Speaker #7: Fees and commissions were roughly flat, just over $3 billion in both cases. And gain on investment activities, as I mentioned, is a big driver this time around.

Speaker #7: So we're up to $5.9 billion, rounded from $2.3 billion, rounded up—a little over 150%. FX translation and trading: that one is down, but it's ultimately a small number.

Stephen Phillibert: FX translation and trading, that one is down, but it is ultimately a small number. It is not really a significant driver of the results. On the expense side, we are reflecting up 80%. I will get into some of the details of that, but, I think it is important to highlight the fact. Well, three things primarily. The first is that there are two non-recurring items that have a major role to play in that increase. First is a tech impairment that happened prior to this quarter. That is an item that we do not expect to see again. We also have ECL charges amounting to JMD 1.2 billion that were taken within Q3. Finally, of course, we have now the consolidation of the results of Barita Fund Managers into the group, which we would not have had in the comparable period last year.

Speaker #7: It's not really a significant driver of the results. On the expense side, we're reflecting up 80%. I'll get into some of the details of that, but I think it's important to highlight the fact—well, three things.

Speaker #7: Primarily, the first point is that there are two non-recurring items that have played a major role in that increase. The first is a tech impairment that happened prior to this quarter.

Speaker #7: That's an item that we don't expect to see again. We'll also have ECL charges amounting to $1.2 billion that were taken within Q3.

Speaker #7: And finally, of course, we now have the consolidation of the results of Barita Fund Managers into the group, which we wouldn’t have had in the comparable period last year.

Speaker #7: So the share of associates' results: we have a loss of just over $500 million on that, relative to a $130 million loss in the prior year.

Stephen Phillibert: The share of associates results, we have a loss of just over half a billion on that, relative to JMD 130 million loss in the prior year. We also believe that is not something that ought to be recurring. Ultimately, net profit after tax for the nine months, JMD 2.7 billion relative to JMD 2.2 billion, up 20%. Similarly up 20% on earnings per share to JMD 2.25 versus JMD 1.87. All right, so revenue mix. Because of the outsized gain on investments line, that is up to 58% now of the overall revenue mix, as you can see in the pie chart on the left. Coming after that is the fees and commissions income at about 30%, and then net interest income at 10%. Importantly, we think that the gain on investments line is driven by significant items that tend to be a little lumpy.

Speaker #7: We also believe that is not something that ought to be recurring. Ultimately, net profit after tax for the nine months was $2.7 billion, relative to $2.2 billion, up 20%.

Speaker #7: And similarly, up 20% on earnings per share to $2.25 versus $1.87. All right, so revenue mix—because of the outsized gain on the investments line—that's up to 58% now of the overall revenue mix.

Speaker #7: As you can see in the pie chart on the left, coming after that is the fees on commissions income at about 30%. And then net interest income at 10%.

Speaker #7: Importantly, we think that the gain on investments line is it's driven by significant items that tend to be a little lumpy. So we're not expecting that that level at 58% will hold as a portion of the mix of the income mix.

Stephen Phillibert: So we are not expecting that that level at 58% will hold as a portion of the income mix. On the right-hand side, we have the delta chart. So it is showing the movement in the various line items that accrete to the overall movement in net operating income. The largest driver by far, as we had mentioned, is the investment gains, just under JMD 3.6 billion up year on year, or an increase of about 157%. Then the net interest income, while it looks quite a bit smaller, it is up JMD 564 million. It is important to recognize it still represents a gain of 116% year on year. So we have spoken a few times now about the underlying macro drivers for that line item. Operating expenses. I have covered some of what is on this slide before. I think it is important to think of these expenses in a normalized way.

Speaker #7: On the right-hand side, we have the delta chart. So it's showing the movement in the various line items that accrete to the overall movement in net operating income.

Speaker #7: The largest driver by far, as we had mentioned, is the investment gains—just under $3.6 billion, up year on year, or an increase of about 157%.

Speaker #7: And then the net interest income, while it looks quite a bit smaller, is up $564 million. It's important to recognize it still represents a gain of 116% year on year.

Speaker #7: So, we've spoken a few times now about the underlying macro drivers for that line item. Operating expenses—I’ve covered some of what’s on this slide before.

Speaker #7: I think it's important to consider these expenses in a normalized way. That is to say, we should take note of the items that are non-recurring and understand the trajectory of expenses without those effects.

Stephen Phillibert: That is to say, to take note of the items which are non-recurring and to understand the trajectory of expenses without those effects. So we see here the bar chart at the bottom has revenue. Forgive me, staff costs up to JMD 1.3 billion from just under JMD 1.2 billion. Important to note that the effect of consolidating BFM will have increased that as well as the administration expenses. So that is part of the delta that you are seeing. Under the administration expenses, we also have the impact of that tech charge, as I mentioned previously. So there is information commentary to the right of that bar chart that indicates that if you normalize against that effect, the year over year is up 16%. When you think of staff and admin costs combined, the net increase normalized for that item is 14%.

Speaker #7: So we see here that the bar chart at the bottom has staff costs up to $1.3 billion from just under $1.2 billion.

Speaker #7: It's important to note that the effect of consolidating BFM will have increased that, as well as the administration expenses. So, that's part of the delta that you're seeing.

Speaker #7: Under administrative expenses, we also have the impact of that tech charge that I mentioned previously. There is additional commentary to the right of that bar chart indicating that, if you normalize against that effect, the year-over-year is up 16%.

Speaker #7: And when you think of staff and admin costs combined, the net increase normalized for that item is 14%. That 14% itself is chiefly driven by absorbing the BFM acquisition.

Stephen Phillibert: That 14% itself is chiefly driven by absorbing the BFM acquisition. So on that normalized basis, we believe that the cost discipline that we have spoken to in recent quarters still obtains, even though you have to make some considerations against the headline number in order to see that effectively. We also have captured it in terms of the efficiency ratio. So in the top right of the slide, you will see the efficiency ratio at 57.6% before that adjustment that I spoke to. Once you make that adjustment, it is actually sitting at 48.8% versus 51.4% prior. So it would actually reflect downwards.

Speaker #7: So on that normalized basis, we believe that the the cost discipline that we've spoken to in recent quarters still obtains even though you have to you have to make some considerations against the the headline number in order to see that effectively.

Speaker #7: We have also captured it in terms of the efficiency ratio. So, in the top right of the slide, you'll see the efficiency ratio at 57.6% before that adjustment that I spoke to, and once you make that adjustment, it's actually sitting at 48.8% versus 51.4% prior.

Speaker #7: So, it would actually reflect downwards. The efficiency ratio is perhaps a better way to think of it because, whereas on the cost side, you have the addition to expenses caused by the consolidation of BFM's—the BFM acquisition—on the revenue side, that's balanced out because you're also picking up revenue from that entity.

Stephen Phillibert: The efficiency ratio is perhaps a better way to think of it because whereas on the cost side you have the addition to expenses caused by the consolidation of the BFM acquisition, on the revenue side that is balanced out because you are also picking up revenue from that entity. So the efficiency ratio is measuring both things. It is giving due consideration to both effects. Then we will close by looking at the balance sheet movements, just some of the headline numbers and capital strength. So total assets up to JMD 183 billion. That is up 22% relative to the last year end. Liabilities up 27% to JMD 145 billion. Shareholder's equity up 8% and so forth. So the total assets, total liabilities movements, we expect to see growth there again because you are now consolidating in another entity. So this is not surprising at all.

Speaker #7: And so the efficiency ratio is measuring both things. It's giving due consideration to both effects. And then we'll close by looking at the balance sheet.

Speaker #7: Movements—there's some of the headline numbers and capital strength. So, total assets are up to $183 billion; that's up 22% relative to the last year end.

Speaker #7: Liabilities are up 27% to $145 million. Shareholders' equity is up 8%, and so forth. So, the total assets and total liabilities movements—we expect to see growth there again because you're now consolidating another entity.

Speaker #7: So this is not surprising at all. Capital adequacy is at 26.3%, relative to an industry average of 20%, and a regulatory minimum of 10%. So we continue to be strongly capitalized.

Stephen Phillibert: Capital adequacy, 26.3% relative to an industry average of 20%, and a regulatory minimum of 10%. We continue to be strongly capitalized. That closes the financial review slides. I will hand back to Terise. I think you are going to introduce.

Speaker #7: That closes the financial review slides, so I will hand back to Theresa. I think you're going to introduce.

Speaker #2: All right, so thank you very much, Steven, for that. All right, ladies and gentlemen, I will now hand over to Mr. Ricardo Williams, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Barita Fund Managers Limited and Senior Vice President, Asset Management and Research, who will give us the macroeconomic context and the investment strategy.

Terise Kettle: All right. Thank you very much, Stephen, for that.

Terise Kettle: All right. Thank you very much, Stephen, for that. All right. Ladies and gentlemen, I will now hand over to Mr. Ricardo Williams, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Barita Fund Managers Limited and Senior Vice President, Asset Management and Research, who will give us the macroeconomic context and the investment strategy. Ricardo?

Stephen Phillibert: Thank you.

Terise Kettle: All right. Ladies and gentlemen, I will now hand over to Mr. Ricardo Williams, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Barita Fund Managers Limited and Senior Vice President, Asset Management and Research, who will give us the macroeconomic context and the investment strategy. Ricardo?

Speaker #2: Ricardo?

Speaker #5: All right. Thanks. Thank you, Therese. Good afternoon, shareholders. As is customary over the past couple of quarters, my role on this leg of the release is to basically contextualize the numbers that Steven shared just now.

Richardo Williams: All right. Thank you, Terise. Good afternoon, shareholders. As is customary over the past couple quarters, my role on this leg of the relay is to basically contextualize the numbers that Stephen shared just now, then to essentially signpost some of the more nuanced elements of our performance that Ramon will conclude on. What we have seen in the last quarter in which we are reporting is much the same in terms of global volatility and also the continuing effects of Hurricane Melissa working its way through the local economy. That essentially is the context within which our last quarter's performance should be seen, and if judged objectively, we would say we have acquitted ourselves very well as these numbers will demonstrate at a glance. The first one there, as is typical, is that monetary policy decisions, as we know, set the context for the mean price in an economy, which is pretty much interest rates. The Bank of Jamaica held interest rates at 5.5% when they last met in August on account of elevated concerns about local inflation. That is being driven again primarily by the continued geopolitical factors or uproar between the US and Iran, and that is driving up commodities prices, particularly food and oil, to which we are most exposed as a small island developing state. The central bank is definitely concerned about that and has taken a rather precautionary stance by maintaining its policy rate. Now, one could say that perhaps they are fairly well-grounded, if theory is to go anything by, because what we are seeing on the chart there where economic growth is concerned is that we are seeing a narrowing of the contraction from the last quarter. Q1 of 2026, we had a local contract of 4.1%, and that has narrowed to 2.9% in Q2 of 2026. In other words, what this is suggesting is that the economy is actually recovering from Hurricane Melissa at a much faster clip than we anticipated initially, and it is something that the Planning Institute of Jamaica has actually confirmed in its most recent release. That augurs well generally for our business, particularly those sections of the business that are most tilted to the real economy or investment banking side. We anticipate that these green shoots will show up in subsequent quarters. The FX environment also interestingly remains pretty robust. We have seen the JMD actually appreciate against the USD. Again, this pretty much attests to the strength of the local economy, all things considered, given the nature of the economic shock that we saw from Hurricane Melissa last year, then to be assailed in early 2026 by the Iran-US conflict. This, I think, exemplifies pretty good economic management and gives us a fairly stable environment with which we can do our forward planning. Therefore, it also provides a fair degree of opportunity as well based on what the Bank of Jamaica is doing in terms of intervening in the market to maintain order. The Cambio element of things is an important part of our revenue mix, albeit a small one. We continue to play that up as part of the resilient core. In terms of rates and markets, the curve is somewhat, but it is still pretty high. Consequently, that is one of the reasons why we have been trumpeting really the fact that we are moving towards more stable, recurring type fee income and not so much to be exposed to the volatility in markets, right, as the interest rate slide here demonstrates. In the next slide, what we have really done is to give some further details on some of these discussions that I have just mentioned here. In terms of the outlook for growth, the PIOJ is suggesting that between the July and September quarter, we can see a further contraction of -5% to -1.5%. If you realize, this also represents another instance of the narrowing of the contraction. Though we will grow still at a slower pace, the rate of change is actually getting better in terms of the pickup in the recovery. We again are quite encouraged by this and are putting in the necessary plans for the business to benefit. Again, in terms of earnings, the intention is to move away from the revaluation gains that have played a significant part in our earnings profile to more cash-based revenue generation as we ramp up the developments on our real estate platform. Of course, this is something that Ramon will get into greater details on. So that, shareholders, rounds out the conversation and the context for our performance in the quarter. I will now pass it on to Ramon.

Speaker #5: And then to essentially signpost some of the more nuanced elements of our performance that Ramon will conclude on. What we have seen in the last quarter, which we are reporting on, is much the same in terms of global volatility and also the continuing effects of Hurricane Melissa working its way through the local economy.

Speaker #5: That, essentially, is the context within which our last quarter's performance should be seen. And if judged objectively, we would say we have acquitted ourselves very, very well.

Speaker #5: As these numbers will demonstrate, at a glance. So the first one there, as is typical, is that monetary policy decisions, as we know, set the context for the mean price in an economy, which is pretty much interest rates.

Richardo Williams: The first one there, as is typical, is that monetary policy decisions, as we know, set the context for the mean price in an economy, which is pretty much interest rates. The Bank of Jamaica held interest rates at 5.5% when they last met in August on account of elevated concerns about local inflation. That is being driven again primarily by the continued geopolitical factors or uproar between the US and Iran, and that is driving up commodities prices, particularly food and oil, to which we are most exposed as a small island developing state. The central bank is definitely concerned about that and has taken a rather precautionary stance by maintaining its policy rate.

Speaker #5: And the BOJ held interest rates at 5.5% when they last met in August on account of elevated concerns about local inflation, and that is being driven again primarily by the continued geopolitical factors at play between the US and Iran, and that is driving up commodity prices, particularly food and oil, to which we are most exposed as a small island developing state.

Speaker #5: So the central bank is definitely concerned about that and has taken a rather precautionary stance by maintaining its policy rate. Now, one could say that perhaps there are fairly well-grounded theories to go by, because what we're seeing on the chart there, where economic growth is concerned, is that we're seeing a narrowing of the contraction from the last quarter.

Richardo Williams: Now, one could say that perhaps they are fairly well-grounded, if theory is to go anything by, because what we are seeing on the chart there where economic growth is concerned is that we are seeing a narrowing of the contraction from the last quarter. Q1 of 2026, we had a local contract of 4.1%, and that has narrowed to 2.9% in Q2 of 2026. In other words, what this is suggesting is that the economy is actually recovering from Hurricane Melissa at a much faster clip than we anticipated initially, and it is something that the Planning Institute of Jamaica has actually confirmed in its most recent release. That augurs well generally for our business, particularly those sections of the business that are most tilted to the real economy or investment banking side. We anticipate that these green shoots will show up in subsequent quarters.

Speaker #5: In Q1 of 2026, we had a local contract of 4.1%, and that has narrowed to 2.9% in Q2 of 2026.

Speaker #5: So, in other words, what this is suggesting is that the economy is actually recovering from Hurricane Melissa at a much faster clip than we anticipated initially.

Speaker #5: And this is something that the Planning Institute of Jamaica has actually confirmed in its most recent release: that August, well, generally for our business—particularly those sections of the business that are most tilted to the real economies or investment banking side—

Speaker #5: So, we anticipate that these green shoots will show up in subsequent quarters. The effects environment also, interestingly, remains pretty robust. We have seen the JMD actually appreciate against the USD, and again, this pretty much attests to the strength of the local economy, all things considered, given the nature of the economic shock that we saw from Hurricane Melissa last year, and then to be sealed in early 2026 by the Iran-US conflict.

Richardo Williams: The FX environment also interestingly remains pretty robust. We have seen the JMD actually appreciate against the USD. Again, this pretty much attests to the strength of the local economy, all things considered, given the nature of the economic shock that we saw from Hurricane Melissa last year, then to be assailed in early 2026 by the Iran-US conflict. This, I think, exemplifies pretty good economic management and gives us a fairly stable environment with which we can do our forward planning. Therefore, it also provides a fair degree of opportunity as well based on what the Bank of Jamaica is doing in terms of intervening in the market to maintain order. The Cambio element of things is an important part of our revenue mix, albeit a small one. We continue to play that up as part of the resilient core.

Speaker #5: You know, this, I think, exemplifies pretty good economic management and gives us a fairly stable environment with which we can do our forward planning, and therefore, it also provides a fair degree of opportunity as well. Based on what the BOJ is doing in terms of intervening in the market to maintain order, the cambio element of things is an important part of our revenue mix, albeit a small one, so we continue to play that up as part of the resilient core.

Speaker #5: In terms of rates and markets, the curve is somewhat, but it is still pretty, pretty high. And consequently, that is one of the reasons why we have been trumpeting, really, the fact that we are moving towards more stable, recurring-type income and not so much to be exposed to the volatility in markets, right, as interest rates slide here demonstrates.

Richardo Williams: In terms of rates and markets, the curve is somewhat, but it is still pretty high. Consequently, that is one of the reasons why we have been trumpeting really the fact that we are moving towards more stable, recurring type fee income and not so much to be exposed to the volatility in markets, right, as the interest rate slide here demonstrates. In the next slide, what we have really done is to give some further details on some of these discussions that I have just mentioned here. In terms of the outlook for growth, the PIOJ is suggesting that between the July and September quarter, we can see a further contraction of -5% to -1.5%. If you realize, this also represents another instance of the narrowing of the contraction.

Speaker #5: In the next slide, what we have really done is to give some further details on some of these discussions that we have, that I've just mentioned here.

Speaker #5: In terms of the outlook for growth, the PIOJ is suggesting that between the July and September quarter, we could see a further contraction of minus 5% to minus 1.5%.

Speaker #5: And if you realize, this also represents another instance of the narrowing of the contraction. So, though we will grow—still at a slower pace—the rate of change is actually getting better in terms of the pickup in the recovery, right?

Richardo Williams: Though we will grow still at a slower pace, the rate of change is actually getting better in terms of the pickup in the recovery. We again are quite encouraged by this and are putting in the necessary plans for the business to benefit. Again, in terms of earnings, the intention is to move away from the revaluation gains that have played a significant part in our earnings profile to more cash-based revenue generation as we ramp up the developments on our real estate platform. Of course, this is something that Ramon will get into greater details on. So that, shareholders, rounds out the conversation and the context for our performance in the quarter. I will now pass it on to Ramon.

Speaker #5: So we again are quite encouraged by this and are putting in the necessary plans for the business to to to benefit. Again in terms of earnings the intention is to move away from the revaluation gains that have played a significant part in our earnings profile to more cash based revenue generation as we ramp up the the the developments in on our on our real estate platform.

Speaker #5: And of course, this is something that Roman will get into in great detail. So that, shareholders, rounds out the conversation and the context for our performance in the quarter.

Speaker #5: And I'll now pass it on to Roman.

Speaker #1: All right. So, thank you for that. Ladies and gentlemen, please ask your questions. If you're an investor, if you're a potential investor, if you're interested in investing, if you're interested in learning more about Barita Investments Limited, now is the time, right?

Terise Kettle: All right. So thank you for that. Ladies and gentlemen, please ask the questions. If you are an investor, if you are a potential investor, you are interested in investing, you are interested in learning more about Barita Investments Limited, now is the time. You have everybody here, and we are going to ask you to put in those questions in the chat so that we can have that conversation. I will now hand over to Mr. Ramon Small-Ferguson, Chief Executive Officer, to speak about the group's strategic imperatives and the business outlook. Ramon?

Speaker #1: You have everybody here, and we're going to ask you to put those questions in the chat so that we can have that conversation. I will now hand over to Mr. Ramon Small-Ferguson, Chief Executive Officer, to speak about the Group's strategic imperatives and the business outlook.

Speaker #1: Ramon.

Speaker #2: Thanks, Teres. Good afternoon, shareholders. It's a pleasure for me to be here to speak to you about our business. As Teres indicated, my section of the presentation is going to be focused heavily on strategy and how it's been playing out year to date, and how we anticipate that we will, you know, be performing, so to speak, or what we'll be focusing on for the remainder of Q4.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: Thanks, Terise. Good afternoon, shareholders. It is always a pleasure for me to be here to speak to you about our business. As Terise indicated, my section of the presentation is going to be focused heavily on strategy and how it has been playing out year to date, and how we anticipate that we will be performing, so to speak, or what we will be focusing on for the remainder of Q4. We enter Q4 with a bit of a tailwind. It is a broader revenue base that we have generated for the nine months to date. We have also, I think, made significant progress as it relates to our strategic pillars which invariably we think will set us on good footing as we contemplate what we are going to be focusing on for the 2027 financial year, which starts in October, so just around the corner. I want to start out by talking a bit about how the revenue picture has played out year to date. Stephen did a very good job of getting into the details there, but I wanted to look at it from a different perspective. The first thing that I want to highlight is that the JMD 10.1 billion in revenue that we generated for the first 9 months of the year was a record. It actually eclipsed the full year performance for our last financial year, for financial year 2025. It is up 61% relative to the comparative period in the previous year. The revenue picture showed us a mix, a mix of improved recurring revenues, which is something that we have been focusing on creating. In essence, establishing a broader revenue base that is either contractual or has very clear systems around generating it. We've seen improvements in net interest income. That's up over 100%. Excellent stability in fee-based income. Asset management fees are up. Investment banking fees were down a bit, just based on the nature of market activity. But the level of recurring revenues this year nominally is improved. We've also seen improvement in opportunistic revenues, both trading, realized, and unrealized in terms of the performance of our balance sheet portfolios. That means that we have seen strong value creation in relation to the assets on our balance sheet, which we are very proud of. Importantly as well, I wanted to look at the earnings in the context of the extraordinary outcomes, so to speak, that adversely influenced the performance. A couple of them, at least, and there's a third one that I'll mention, too. Net profit for the 9-month period was JMD 2.7 billion, up 20%, as Stephen mentioned. But there were two particularly large extraordinary items on the expense side that we incurred throughout the year. There was the ECL charge, which showed up during the last quarter of JMD 1.24 billion, and there was a tech impairment of JMD 880 million or so that showed up, I think, in the Q2. What that means is that if we look at profit before tax and we add these two items back to it, PBT was about JMD 3.7 billion. You add those two items back to it, would move to a PBT of about JMD 5.85 billion. We apply the same effective tax rate. What you're seeing, if you look to the left of the screen, is an adjusted net profit of about JMD 4.2 billion relative to JMD 2.7 billion that was actually recorded in the accounts. That's a 57% uplift and an 88% uplift relative to the previous year. That number grows even more significantly to about JMD 4.7 billion if you look at the extraordinary, as Stephen described them, losses associated with our associate company position at JMD 550 million. So you're talking about a potential JMD 4.7 billion profit or an adjusted JMD 4.7 billion profit when you exclude those three extraordinary items that we don't anticipate will reoccur. It tells you that the performance for the period we think was even more impressive in the context of very challenging operating conditions, from a macroeconomic perspective, right? It reflects the focus that we have had over the course of the last several years of diversifying the business, ensuring that we have different sources of revenue that are tilted towards different market conditions. That's a critical thing for us as a business, right, and I wanted to highlight that. Now to get into the strategy, to remind you of the five strategic pillars on which the company's activities and performance have been built year to date. I have spoken about this quarter after quarter, but it is good. Repetition is the father of learning, right? The first strategic pillar I want to mention is business optimization. We are focusing on targeting a particular revenue mix, ensuring that our capital deployment is optimal, and really focusing on driving the performance of key business lines. Customer centricity is the second pillar. We are focusing there on deepening our understanding of our clients, ensuring that we engage them, and we are really looking at ensuring that there is broader product penetration throughout the system, greater share of wallet. Operating efficiency is the third pillar. We are looking at improving productivity. I have said it here repeatedly, doing more with the same or producing a better quality with the same resources. We are focusing on automation, optimizing our processes, either sharpening them or improving how they serve our customers, and basically just streamlining our execution. The fourth pillar, which we think is a critical pillar, is risk and compliance. We continue to strengthen our risk management framework, improve our governance, where we are able, our controls, and our regulatory position. Finally, inorganic expansion has been a pillar of ours for the last two financial years. Having completed an acquisition, we are now focused on the integration component of things, right? We are really building resilience in this business through diversifying, through becoming more efficient, and through ensuring that we have the right kind of risk management for sustainable value creation and stronger earnings, and stronger earnings quality. Let us talk now about how we have made some advances in each area. Naturally, this is not exhaustive, right? But I want to give you guys an idea of what we have been doing to make your money work for you as shareholders. On the business line optimization front, a big component of that has been making the balance sheet work harder, so to speak, as you see there. So what does that mean for us? For us, it means improving churn, so asset realization, monetizing some of our slower-moving assets and assets that may not be giving us the optimal yield, right? That has improved our liquidity. We have been recycling that capital, so redeploying it very carefully into, in some cases, more liquid, better-yielding opportunities, right? So that means we have higher capital productivity. We have been optimizing our funding costs, and we have seen that play out in our net interest margins, which are up, and by extension, net interest income up over 100% year over year. Liquidity flexibility. We have strengthened our liquidity across both currencies. So it gives us more room to take advantage of opportunities and, of course, strengthens our resilience. Finally, we have been very disciplined with that capital recycling, right? Very focused on risk-adjusted returns, and we are seeing that play out now in stronger return on assets. The objective really is to ensure that the strong capital base that we have and the strong liquidity translates to good and sustainable earnings and returns. Right? Let me talk about the second pillar and what we are doing there, customer centricity. I mentioned earlier that a critical component of that is understanding the customer. So it means segmentation, so we've been really focused on the data, underlining that, and getting better client insight so that we can tailor the engagement, be more focused, make it more fit for purpose. We've also been improving share of wallet. We recognize that some of our clients are a one-product clients or a two-product clients. We want them to be as many-product clients as is optimal for them in terms of their circumstances, right? We've been focusing on growing share of wallet. And finally, we have been focusing on enhancing our technology to better cover client needs. Let me talk now about operational efficiency. There are four things here. One, we have focused on our critical workflows. What is keeping our team members busy? What's standing between the outcomes that our clients want and the requests that they make for them, right? We have been focusing on that, those core workflows, and trying to automate them as best as possible. Some of our workflows are now moving from manual to semi-automatic and moving from manual to fully automatic. We've also tried to compress or simplify some of our processes. Of course, we're not going to expend our capital from a risk management perspective there, but rather focus on seeing whether there is genuinely an opportunity to simplify some of our processes. We've also been focusing on optimizing our operating model. We're now a part of a financial group, and to the extent that there is the ability for teams to combine and do more together, we have been focusing on that. And finally, data again. We've ensured that we now look at the data that we have and track and measure what we're trying to accomplish, right? It has been said repeatedly that what gets measured gets done, right? That's important to us. Fourth pillar, risk and compliance. There has been a very visible win in this area during the most recent period where we have gotten an upgrade from CariCRIS. We got an initial rating from them late in 2024, early 2025. That initial rating was actually upgraded in the last review that the rating agency did on Barita. What you see on screen there are the results of that. Across all measures, local and foreign currency on a regional scale were now rated A and A-minus respectively. On the local scale, we're rated double A-minus, up from A-plus, and A-plus on the local and foreign currency section of the local scale with a stable outlook. That means that the investors who participated in the Barita bond last year summer now have an instrument that is rated higher than when they invested in it, which is a good thing. As I said before, this is a visible win in the risk management category, right? CariCRIS commented on the fact that we've expanded market share, we've now availed ourselves of access to lower-cost funding, we've strengthened our risk management and improved earnings quality. All these things are big positives for all our stakeholders, to include you, our shareholders, and we're very proud of doing this, very proud of accomplishing this on your behalf. Fifth pillar, inorganic expansion. I'm going to ask Ricardo Williams, the CEO of BFM, Barita Fund Managers, to talk a bit about how that's going.

Speaker #2: We enter Q4 with a bit of a tailwind, right? It's a broader revenue base that we've generated for the nine months to date.

Speaker #2: And we have also, I think, made significant progress as it relates to our strategic pillars, which, invariably, we think will set us on good footing as we contemplate what we're going to be focusing on for the 2027 financial year, which starts in October.

Speaker #2: So, just around the corner, right? I want to start out by talking a bit about how the revenue picture has played out year to date, right?

Ramon Small-Ferguson: I want to start out by talking a bit about how the revenue picture has played out year to date. Stephen did a very good job of getting into the details there, but I wanted to look at it from a different perspective. The first thing that I want to highlight is that the JMD 10.1 billion in revenue that we generated for the first 9 months of the year was a record. It actually eclipsed the full year performance for our last financial year, for financial year 2025. It is up 61% relative to the comparative period in the previous year. The revenue picture showed us a mix, a mix of improved recurring revenues, which is something that we have been focusing on creating. In essence, establishing a broader revenue base that is either contractual or has very clear systems around generating it.

Speaker #2: And Stephen did a very good job of getting into the details there, but I wanted to look at it from a different perspective, right?

Speaker #2: So, the first thing that I want to highlight is that the $10.1 billion in revenue that we generated for the first nine months of the year was a record.

Speaker #2: It actually eclipsed the full year performance for our last financial year for financial year 2025, right? And is up 61% relative to the comparative period in the previous year.

Speaker #2: And the revenue picture showed us a mix—a mix of improved recurring revenues, which is something that we have been focusing on: creating, in essence, a broader revenue base that is either contractual or has, you know, very clear systems around generating it, right.

Speaker #2: And we've seen improvements in net interest income that's up over 100% an excellent stability in fee based income asset management fees are up investment banking fees were down a bit just based on the nature of market activity but the level of recurring revenues this year nominally is improved we've also seen improvement in opportunistic revenues right both trading realized and unrealized in terms of the performance of our balance sheet portfolios and that means that we have seen strong value creation in relation to the assets on our balance sheet which we are very proud of.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: We've seen improvements in net interest income. That's up over 100%. Excellent stability in fee-based income. Asset management fees are up. Investment banking fees were down a bit, just based on the nature of market activity. But the level of recurring revenues this year nominally is improved. We've also seen improvement in opportunistic revenues, both trading, realized, and unrealized in terms of the performance of our balance sheet portfolios. That means that we have seen strong value creation in relation to the assets on our balance sheet, which we are very proud of. Importantly as well, I wanted to look at the earnings in the context of the extraordinary outcomes, so to speak, that adversely influenced the performance. A couple of them, at least, and there's a third one that I'll mention, too. Net profit for the 9-month period was JMD 2.7 billion, up 20%, as Stephen mentioned.

Speaker #2: Importantly, as well, I wanted to look at the earnings in the context of the extraordinary outcomes, so to speak, that adversely influenced the performance—at least a couple of them—and there's a third one that I'll mention too.

Speaker #2: Net profit for the nine-month period was $2.7 billion, up 20%, as Stephen mentioned. However, there were two particularly large extraordinary items on the expense side that we incurred throughout the year.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: But there were two particularly large extraordinary items on the expense side that we incurred throughout the year. There was the ECL charge, which showed up during the last quarter of JMD 1.24 billion, and there was a tech impairment of JMD 880 million or so that showed up, I think, in the Q2. What that means is that if we look at profit before tax and we add these two items back to it, PBT was about JMD 3.7 billion. You add those two items back to it, would move to a PBT of about JMD 5.85 billion. We apply the same effective tax rate. What you're seeing, if you look to the left of the screen, is an adjusted net profit of about JMD 4.2 billion relative to JMD 2.7 billion that was actually recorded in the accounts. That's a 57% uplift and an 88% uplift relative to the previous year.

Speaker #2: There was the ECL charge, which showed up during the last quarter, of $1.24 billion, and there was a tech impairment of $880 million or so that showed up, I think, in the second quarter, right?

Speaker #2: What that means is that if we look at profit before tax, and we add these two items back to it—PBT was about $3.7 billion—if you add those two items back, we move to a PBT of about $5.85 billion. We apply the same effective tax rate. What you're seeing, if you look to the left of the screen, is an adjusted net profit of about $4.2 billion relative to $2.7 billion that was actually recorded in the accounts, right.

Speaker #2: That's a 57% uplift and an 88% uplift relative to the previous year. That number grows even more significantly to about $4.7 billion if you look at the extraordinary, as Stephen described them, losses associated with our associate company position—that $550 million.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: That number grows even more significantly to about JMD 4.7 billion if you look at the extraordinary, as Stephen described them, losses associated with our associate company position at JMD 550 million. So you're talking about a potential JMD 4.7 billion profit or an adjusted JMD 4.7 billion profit when you exclude those three extraordinary items that we don't anticipate will reoccur. It tells you that the performance for the period we think was even more impressive in the context of very challenging operating conditions, from a macroeconomic perspective, right? It reflects the focus that we have had over the course of the last several years of diversifying the business, ensuring that we have different sources of revenue that are tilted towards different market conditions. That's a critical thing for us as a business, right, and I wanted to highlight that.

Speaker #2: So you're talking about a potential $4.7 billion profit, or an adjusted $4.7 billion profit when you exclude those three extraordinary items that we do anticipate will reoccur.

Speaker #2: It tells you that the performance for the period, we think, was even more impressive in the context of very challenging operating conditions from a macroeconomic perspective, right?

Speaker #2: And it reflects the focus that we have had over the course of the last several years of diversifying the business, ensuring that we have different sources of revenue that are tilted towards different market conditions, right?

Speaker #2: That's a critical thing for us as a business, right? And I wanted to highlight that. Now, to get into the strategy—and to remind you of the five strategic pillars on which the company's activities and performance have been built year to date.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: Now to get into the strategy, to remind you of the five strategic pillars on which the company's activities and performance have been built year to date. I have spoken about this quarter after quarter, but it is good. Repetition is the father of learning, right? The first strategic pillar I want to mention is business optimization. We are focusing on targeting a particular revenue mix, ensuring that our capital deployment is optimal, and really focusing on driving the performance of key business lines. Customer centricity is the second pillar. We are focusing there on deepening our understanding of our clients, ensuring that we engage them, and we are really looking at ensuring that there is broader product penetration throughout the system, greater share of wallet. Operating efficiency is the third pillar. We are looking at improving productivity.

Speaker #2: And I've spoken about this quarter after quarter, but it's—it's good. Repetition is the father of learning, right? So the first strategic pillar I want to mention is business optimization.

Speaker #2: We are focusing on targeting a particular revenue mix, ensuring that our capital deployment is optimal, and really focusing on driving the performance of key business lines.

Speaker #2: Customer centricity is there on deepening our understanding of our clients, ensuring that we engage them, and really looking at ensuring that there is broader product penetration throughout the system, with a share of wallet.

Speaker #2: Operating efficiency is the third pillar. We're looking at improving productivity. I've said it here repeatedly: doing more with the same, or producing a better quality with the same resources.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: I have said it here repeatedly, doing more with the same or producing a better quality with the same resources. We are focusing on automation, optimizing our processes, either sharpening them or improving how they serve our customers, and basically just streamlining our execution. The fourth pillar, which we think is a critical pillar, is risk and compliance. We continue to strengthen our risk management framework, improve our governance, where we are able, our controls, and our regulatory position. Finally, inorganic expansion has been a pillar of ours for the last two financial years. Having completed an acquisition, we are now focused on the integration component of things, right? We are really building resilience in this business through diversifying, through becoming more efficient, and through ensuring that we have the right kind of risk management for sustainable value creation and stronger earnings, and stronger earnings quality.

Speaker #2: We are focusing on automation—optimizing our processes, either sharpening them or improving how they serve our customers. And basically, just streamlining our execution. The fourth pillar, which we think is a critical pillar, is risk and compliance.

Speaker #2: We continue to strengthen our risk management framework and improve our governance. We were able to enhance our controls and our regulatory position, and finally, inorganic expansion has been a pillar of ours for the last two financial years. Having completed an acquisition, we are now focused on the integration component of things, right?

Speaker #2: We're really building resilience in this business through diversifying, through becoming more efficient, and through ensuring that we have the right kind of risk management for sustainable value creation, stronger earnings, and stronger earnings quality.

Speaker #2: Let's talk now about how we have made some advances in each area. Naturally, this isn't exhaustive, right? But I want to give you guys an idea of what we've been doing to make your money work for you as shareholders.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: Let us talk now about how we have made some advances in each area. Naturally, this is not exhaustive, right? But I want to give you guys an idea of what we have been doing to make your money work for you as shareholders. On the business line optimization front, a big component of that has been making the balance sheet work harder, so to speak, as you see there. So what does that mean for us? For us, it means improving churn, so asset realization, monetizing some of our slower-moving assets and assets that may not be giving us the optimal yield, right? That has improved our liquidity. We have been recycling that capital, so redeploying it very carefully into, in some cases, more liquid, better-yielding opportunities, right? So that means we have higher capital productivity.

Speaker #2: On the business line optimization front, a big component of that has been making the balance sheet work harder, so to speak, as you see there.

Speaker #2: So what does that mean for us? For us, it means improving churn, asset realization, monetizing some of our slower-moving assets, and assets that may not be giving us the optimal yield, right?

Speaker #2: And that has improved our liquidity. We've been recycling that capital—redeploying it very carefully into, in some cases, more liquid, better-yielding opportunities, right?

Speaker #2: So that means we have higher capital productivity. We've been optimizing our funding cost, and we've seen that play out in our net interest margins, which are up and, by extension, net interest income is up over 100% year over year.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: We have been optimizing our funding costs, and we have seen that play out in our net interest margins, which are up, and by extension, net interest income up over 100% year over year. Liquidity flexibility. We have strengthened our liquidity across both currencies. So it gives us more room to take advantage of opportunities and, of course, strengthens our resilience. Finally, we have been very disciplined with that capital recycling, right? Very focused on risk-adjusted returns, and we are seeing that play out now in stronger return on assets. The objective really is to ensure that the strong capital base that we have and the strong liquidity translates to good and sustainable earnings and returns. Right? Let me talk about the second pillar and what we are doing there, customer centricity. I mentioned earlier that a critical component of that is understanding the customer.

Speaker #2: Liquidity flexibility. We've strengthened our liquidity across both currencies, so it gives us more room to take advantage of opportunities and, of course, strengthens our resilience. And finally, we've been very disciplined with that capital recycling, right?

Speaker #2: Very focused on risk adjusted returns. We're seeing that play out now in in stronger return on assets. The the objective really is to ensure that the strong capital base that we have and a strong liquidity translates to to good and sustainable earnings and returns right.

Speaker #2: Let me talk about the second pillar, and what we're doing there: customer centricity. I mentioned earlier that a critical component of that is understanding the customer.

Speaker #2: So, it means segmentation. So, we've been really focused on the data underlying that and getting better client insight so that we can tailor the engagement, be more focused, make it more fit for purpose.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: So it means segmentation, so we've been really focused on the data, underlining that, and getting better client insight so that we can tailor the engagement, be more focused, make it more fit for purpose. We've also been improving share of wallet. We recognize that some of our clients are a one-product clients or a two-product clients. We want them to be as many-product clients as is optimal for them in terms of their circumstances, right? We've been focusing on growing share of wallet. And finally, we have been focusing on enhancing our technology to better cover client needs. Let me talk now about operational efficiency. There are four things here. One, we have focused on our critical workflows. What is keeping our team members busy? What's standing between the outcomes that our clients want and the requests that they make for them, right?

Speaker #2: We've also been improving share of wallet. We recognize that some of our clients are one-product clients, or two-product clients. We want them to be as many-product clients as is optimal for them in terms of their circumstances, right?

Speaker #2: So we've been focusing on growing share of wallet, and finally, we have been focusing on enhancing our technology to better cover client needs. Let me talk now about operational efficiency.

Speaker #2: There are four things here. One, we have focused on our critical workflows—what is keeping our team members busy, what's standing between the outcomes that our clients want and the requests that they make for them, right?

Speaker #2: And we have been focusing on those core workflows and trying to automate them as best as possible. So some of our workflows are now moving from manual to semi-automatic, and moving from manual to fully automatic.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: We have been focusing on that, those core workflows, and trying to automate them as best as possible. Some of our workflows are now moving from manual to semi-automatic and moving from manual to fully automatic. We've also tried to compress or simplify some of our processes. Of course, we're not going to expend our capital from a risk management perspective there, but rather focus on seeing whether there is genuinely an opportunity to simplify some of our processes. We've also been focusing on optimizing our operating model. We're now a part of a financial group, and to the extent that there is the ability for teams to combine and do more together, we have been focusing on that. And finally, data again. We've ensured that we now look at the data that we have and track and measure what we're trying to accomplish, right?

Speaker #2: We've also tried to compress or simplify some of our processes. Of course, we're not going to expend our capital from a risk management perspective there.

Speaker #2: But rather, focus on seeing whether there is genuinely an opportunity to simplify some of our processes. We've also been focusing on optimizing our operating model.

Speaker #2: We're now a part of a financial group, and to the extent that there is the ability for teams to combine and do more together, we have been focusing on that.

Speaker #2: And finally, data again. We've ensured that we now look at the data that we have and track and measure what we're trying to accomplish, right.

Speaker #2: It has been said repeatedly that what gets measured gets done. Right. And that's important to us. Fourth pillar: risk and compliance. There has been a very visible win in this area during the most recent period, where we have gotten an upgrade from Caracris.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: It has been said repeatedly that what gets measured gets done, right? That's important to us. Fourth pillar, risk and compliance. There has been a very visible win in this area during the most recent period where we have gotten an upgrade from CariCRIS. We got an initial rating from them late in 2024, early 2025. That initial rating was actually upgraded in the last review that the rating agency did on Barita. What you see on screen there are the results of that. Across all measures, local and foreign currency on a regional scale were now rated A and A-minus respectively. On the local scale, we're rated double A-minus, up from A-plus, and A-plus on the local and foreign currency section of the local scale with a stable outlook.

Speaker #2: We got an initial rating from them in late 2024 or early 2025, and that initial rating was actually upgraded in the last review that the rating agency did on Barita.

Speaker #2: And what you see on screen there are the results of that. Across all measures—local and foreign currency, and the regional scale—we're now rated A and A-minus, respectively.

Speaker #2: And on the local scale, we're rated W minus, up from A plus, and A plus on the local and foreign currency section of the local scale, with a stable outlook.

Speaker #2: That means that the investors who participated in the Barita bond last year summer now have an instrument that is rated higher than when they invested in it, which is a good thing.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: That means that the investors who participated in the Barita bond last year summer now have an instrument that is rated higher than when they invested in it, which is a good thing. As I said before, this is a visible win in the risk management category, right? CariCRIS commented on the fact that we've expanded market share, we've now availed ourselves of access to lower-cost funding, we've strengthened our risk management and improved earnings quality. All these things are big positives for all our stakeholders, to include you, our shareholders, and we're very proud of doing this, very proud of accomplishing this on your behalf. Fifth pillar, inorganic expansion. I'm going to ask Ricardo Williams, the CEO of BFM, Barita Fund Managers, to talk a bit about how that's going.

Speaker #2: As I said before, this is a visible win in the risk management category, right? Caracris commented on the fact that we've expanded market share.

Speaker #2: We've now availed ourselves of access to lower-cost funding. We've strengthened our risk management and improved earnings quality. All these things are big positives for all our stakeholders, to include you, our shareholders, and we're very proud of doing this—very proud of accomplishing this on your behalf.

Speaker #2: The fifth pillar in our organic expansion, and I'm going to ask Ricciardo, the CEO of BFM Barita Fund Managers, to talk a bit about how that's going.

Speaker #1: All right. Thank you. Thank you, Ramon. So as we are seeing on stage there, just to reprise, the acquisition was consummated on the 19th of January this year, 2026, and thus far we have made some monumental, I would say, changes and accomplishments.

Richardo Williams: Thank you. Thank you, Ramon. As we are seeing on stage there, just to reprise, the acquisition was consummated on 19 January 2026. Thus far we have made some monumental, I would say, changes and accomplishments. First, as Ramon mentioned just now, is renaming of the entity or rebranding rather from JN Fund Managers Limited to Barita Fund Managers Limited. We continue to do extremely well in terms of reaching out to our client base and maintaining a very strong presence there just to understand their needs and to understand how best the new capabilities that Barita brings to the table can actually enhance their experience. In terms of the overall contribution to Barita itself and ultimately to you, the shareholders, we continue to track very well there.

Richardo Williams: Thank you, Ramon. As we are seeing on stage there, just to reprise, the acquisition was consummated on 19 January 2026. Thus far we have made some monumental, I would say, changes and accomplishments. First, as Ramon mentioned just now, is renaming of the entity or rebranding rather from JN Fund Managers Limited to Barita Fund Managers Limited. We continue to do extremely well in terms of reaching out to our client base and maintaining a very strong presence there just to understand their needs and to understand how best the new capabilities that Barita brings to the table can actually enhance their experience. In terms of the overall contribution to Barita itself and ultimately to you, the shareholders, we continue to track very well there. Year to date, we have contributed over JMD 500 million in terms of net operating revenue to the business and just under JMD 120 million in net profit after tax. This run rate does not assume further strategies that we will be implementing to enhance both the top line and I would say the middle elements of the business to ensure that even more profits get radiated downwards to the entity and ultimately to BIL itself. We anticipate that by the next time we meet, we will have further news to report on how things are going. So kick it back to you, Ramon.

Speaker #1: First, as Ramon mentioned just now, is the renaming of the entity, or rebranding rather, from Jane Fund Managers to Barita Fund Managers Limited. We continue to do extremely well in terms of reaching out to our client base and maintaining a very strong presence there.

Speaker #1: Just to understand their needs and to understand how best the new capabilities that Barita brings to the table can actually enhance their experience, and in terms of the overall contribution to Barita itself and ultimately to you, the shareholders, we continue to track very well there.

Speaker #1: Year to date, we have contributed over $500 million in terms of net operating revenue to the business and just under $120 million in net profit after tax.

Richardo Williams: Year to date, we have contributed over JMD 500 million in terms of net operating revenue to the business and just under JMD 120 million in net profit after tax. This run rate does not assume further strategies that we will be implementing to enhance both the top line and I would say the middle elements of the business to ensure that even more profits get radiated downwards to the entity and ultimately to BIL itself. We anticipate that by the next time we meet, we will have further news to report on how things are going. So kick it back to you, Ramon.

Speaker #1: This run rate doesn't assume further strategies that we will be implementing to enhance both the top line and, I would say, the middle elements of the business to ensure that even more profits get radiated.

Speaker #1: downwards to the entity and ultimately to BIL itself. So, we anticipate that by the next time we meet, we'll have further news to report on how things are going. So, I'll kick it back to you, Ramon.

Speaker #2: Right. Thanks, Ricciardo. Much appreciated. All right, so just to wrap up, what are we focused on for the remainder of the year? We're really concentrating our resources on things that can have high impact as we round out the year and things that really set us up, as I intimated at the top, for the new financial year.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: Thanks, Ricardo, much appreciated. All right. Just to wrap up, what are we focused on for the remainder of the year? We are really concentrating our resources on things that can have high impact as we round out the year and things that really set us up, as I intimated at the top, for the new financial year. We continue to focus on strengthening the recurring earnings, setting the net interest income in the right position, growing the base in terms of the asset management, and deepening the wallet share. The investment banking pipeline is pretty big, Terise will tell you. We are trying to get out as much as is prudent in relation to that during this quarter. We are also continuing down the pathway of monetizing and redeploying capital. When you look at things like our real estate exposure, we have initiatives surrounding asset realization and redeploying those monies into more liquid, high-yielding opportunities. We are really pushing on matters from an operational efficiency perspective to close out the high-impact automation that I mentioned, the process improvements. We have some things on the cusp of closure. On 1 October, our clients can face a very different interaction and experience and speed of execution with respect to their activities. The BFM integration is critical. As Ricardo said, quarter after quarter, we want to be able to report improvements there. I am anticipating that BFM will become a larger part of both top and bottom line during the next financial year. Finally, we have to maintain the discipline. We cannot trip now. So liquidity, capital, other risk metrics. Central and top of mind for management as we close out this financial year. We are really trying to carry the momentum that we would have gotten during this year into the 2027 financial year, trying to produce outcomes that we have never seen before in this business during that year. So it's going to be a challenging year, but I think I have a strong support and a formidable team and excellent shareholders to push us beyond any limits that we've set for ourselves. So with that, I think we're at my favorite section, which is questions and answers.

Speaker #2: So, we continue to focus on strengthening the recurring earnings, setting the net interest income in the right position, growing the base in terms of the asset management, and deepening the wallet share, right? And the investment banking pipeline is pretty big—Teresa will tell you.

Speaker #2: So we're trying to get out as much as is prudent in relation to that during this quarter. We're also continuing down the pathway of monetizing and redeploying capital.

Speaker #2: Right. So, when you look at things like our real estate exposure, we have initiatives surrounding asset realization and redeploying those monies into more liquid, higher-yielding opportunities.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: When you look at things like our real estate exposure, we have initiatives surrounding asset realization and redeploying those monies into more liquid, high-yielding opportunities. We are really pushing on matters from an operational efficiency perspective to close out the high-impact automation that I mentioned, the process improvements. We have some things on the cusp of closure. On 1 October, our clients can face a very different interaction and experience and speed of execution with respect to their activities. The BFM integration is critical. As Ricardo said, quarter after quarter, we want to be able to report improvements there. I am anticipating that BFM will become a larger part of both top and bottom line during the next financial year. Finally, we have to maintain the discipline. We cannot trip now. So liquidity, capital, other risk metrics

Speaker #2: Right. We are really pushing on matters from an operational efficiency perspective to close out the high-impact automation that I mentioned, as well as the process improvements.

Speaker #2: We have some information on the cost of closure. So, on October 1st, our clients could face a very different interaction and experience, and speed of execution, with respect to their activities.

Speaker #2: The BFM integration is critical. As Ricciardo said, quarter after quarter, we want to be able to report improvements there. I'm anticipating that BFM will become a larger part of both the top and bottom line during the next financial year.

Speaker #2: And finally, we have to maintain the discipline, right? We can't trip now. Liquidity, capital, and other risk metrics are central and top of mind for management as we close out this financial year.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: central and top of mind for management as we close out this financial year. We are really trying to carry the momentum that we would have gotten during this year into the 2027 financial year, trying to produce outcomes that we have never seen before in this business during that year. So it's going to be a challenging year, but I think I have a strong support and a formidable team and excellent shareholders to push us beyond any limits that we've set for ourselves. So with that, I think we're at my favorite section, which is questions and answers.

Speaker #2: We're really trying to carry the momentum that we would have gotten during this year into the 2027 financial year, and we're trying to produce outcomes that we have never seen before in this business during that year.

Speaker #2: So, it's going to be a challenging year, but I think I have strong support and a formidable team, as well as excellent shareholders to push us beyond any limits that we've set for ourselves.

Speaker #2: So with that, I think we're at my favorite section, which is questions and answers.

Speaker #3: All right. So, thank you very much for that, Ramon. So, ladies and gentlemen, there you have it—the context has been sent, right?

Terise Kettle: All right. So thank you very much for that, Ramon Small-Ferguson. So ladies and gentlemen, there you have it. The context has been set. We would have gone through the Q3 financial performance. We understand the macroeconomic environment in which we are operating and the investment strategy. Ramon Small-Ferguson would have walked us through the outlook of the business, speaking about strengthening recurring revenues, monetizing and deploying capital, accelerating the final quarter execution, continuing BIL integration, very important. Whenever there's an acquisition, we have to ensure that it is properly integrated into the business, and we want to maintain that discipline in the business. So the floor is open. Again, we are asking for the questions. We know you have questions. This is a very important topic that we're talking about. We're talking about your investment. We're talking about an opportunity for you to invest in Barita Investments Limited.

Speaker #3: We would have gone to the third quarter financial performance. We'll understand the macroeconomic environment in which we are operating and the investment strategy. Ramon would have walked us through the outlook of the business, speaking about strengthening recurring revenues, monetizing and deploying capital, accelerating the final quarter's execution, and continuing the BFL integration. Very important, right? Whenever there's an acquisition, we have to ensure that it is properly integrated into the business, and we want to maintain that discipline in the business, right?

Speaker #3: So the floor is open again we asking for the questions we know you have questions this is a very important topic that we're talking about we're talking about your investments we're talking about an opportunity for you to invest in Barita investments limited we're talking about how is it that you can understand and get a better understanding of exactly what it is that Barita investments is doing to driving its financial performance and making money work for you.

Terise Kettle: We're talking about how is it that you can understand and get a better understanding of exactly what it is that Barita Investments is doing to driving its financial performance and making money work for you. We have a few questions in the chat, but keep the questions coming. So Stephen, the first question is for you. Any dividends expected before the year ends?

Speaker #3: We have a few questions in the chat, but keep the questions coming. So, Steven, the first question is for you: Any dividends expected before the year ends?

Speaker #2: Okay, thank you. Thank you for that, Therese. Always an important question. So I guess what I would say is, first, looking historically, Barita has established over recent years a track record of being a very consistent payer of dividends at excellent yields relative to the rest of the market.

Stephen Phillibert: Okay. Thank you. Thank you for that, Terise Kettle. Always an important question. So I guess what I would say is first, looking historically, Barita has established over recent years a track record of being a very consistent payer of dividends at excellent yields relative to the rest of the market. So I think you can rest assured that we take very seriously the return that our shareholders see. Having said that, it's always a careful decision that we will take, so it's not something that we'd give guidance on at this time. What I could say is that generally speaking, management will consider and make a recommendation to the board, and the board will then make its determination on the basis of things which include capital considerations, liquidity, future resources needed for any particular thing, the general growth of the business, whether you have specific investments that you are looking at making, things of that nature. All of those things will be taken into consideration at the appropriate time and with due process, and then we will make a decision, ultimately at the level of the board, and communicate it.

Speaker #2: So, I think you can rest assured that we take very seriously the return that our shareholders see. Having said that, it's always a careful decision that we will take.

Speaker #2: So it's not something that we'd give guidance on at this time. What I could say is that, generally speaking, management will consider and make a recommendation to the Board, and the Board will then make its determination on the basis of things which include capital considerations, liquidity, future resources needed for any particular thing, the general growth of the business, whether you have specific investments that you're looking at making, things of that nature.

Stephen Phillibert: What I could say is that generally speaking, management will consider and make a recommendation to the board, and the board will then make its determination on the basis of things which include capital considerations, liquidity, future resources needed for any particular thing, the general growth of the business, whether you have specific investments that you are looking at making, things of that nature. All of those things will be taken into consideration at the appropriate time and with due process, and then we will make a decision, ultimately at the level of the board, and communicate it.

Speaker #2: So all of those things will be taken into consideration at the appropriate time, and we do process, and then we'll make a decision ultimately at the level of the Board and communicate it.

Speaker #3: All right. Thank you, Steven, for that answer. Steven, you're again in the hot seat. We have another question here for you: What triggers ECL, and at what stage in the loan life cycle—I assume this is—does identifying future defaults occur?

Terise Kettle: All right. Thank you, Stephen, for that answer. Stephen, you are again in the hot seat. We have another question here for you. What triggers ECLs, and at what stage in the loan life cycle, I assume it is, does identifying future defaults occur?

Speaker #2: Okay, all right. Thank you for that one. On an accounting one, we really don’t get those in this forum, so what triggers it? I’ll speak from the perspective of loans.

Stephen Phillibert: Okay. Thank you for that one. An accounting one. We rarely get those in this forum. What triggers it? I will speak from the perspective of loans, as that was the context of the question. The answer is, once a loan is formed, ECL starts from day one. That is the new treatment under the standards now. As long as you have a loan, there is an ECL calculation that is done. When you just form a loan, create a loan, there is nothing particular about that loan that would give an indication that it has any negative characteristics. You look at the next 12-month probability of default. Usually, those are based on average statistics, broad statistics for that kind of loan, and you apply those. You also apply considerations such as what is the collateral of the loan. You have probability of default, loss given default. Those are two main elements of the calculation. As time goes on, should you have loans which have characteristics that suggest that their credit quality has deteriorated, then you take a lifetime view of the loan in terms of its probability of default over that period. Again, you make an assessment relative to the amount that you could lose based on the collateral, et cetera, that you have, and that is ultimately how you calculate it. Generally, businesses that have a lot of loans will have a model, and the model will have certain inputs, including some of the things I mentioned, other macroeconomic indicators, and you will feed all your loans into that model, and it will give you a resulting calculation, which is then reviewed at several levels. Was that the full question?

Speaker #2: As that was the context of the question, and the answer is: once a loan is formed, ECL starts from day one. That is a new treatment under the standards.

Speaker #2: No, so as long as you have a loan, there's an ECL calculation that is done. So, when you just form a loan or create a loan, there is nothing particular about that loan that would give an indication that it has any negative characteristics.

Speaker #2: So you look at the next 12 month probability of default usually those are based on average statistics broad statistics for that kind of loan and and you apply those you also apply considerations such as you know the the what's the collateral of the loan.

Speaker #2: So you have probability of default, loss given default—those are two main elements of the calculation. As time goes on, should you have loans which have characteristics that suggest that their credit quality has deteriorated, then you take a lifetime view of the loan in terms of its probability of default over that period.

Stephen Phillibert: You have probability of default, loss given default. Those are two main elements of the calculation. As time goes on, should you have loans which have characteristics that suggest that their credit quality has deteriorated, then you take a lifetime view of the loan in terms of its probability of default over that period. Again, you make an assessment relative to the amount that you could lose based on the collateral, et cetera, that you have, and that is ultimately how you calculate it. Generally, businesses that have a lot of loans will have a model, and the model will have certain inputs, including some of the things I mentioned, other macroeconomic indicators, and you will feed all your loans into that model, and it will give you a resulting calculation, which is then reviewed at several levels. Was that the full question?

Speaker #2: Again, you make an assessment relative to the amount that you could lose based on the collateral, etc., that you have, and that is ultimately how you calculate it.

Speaker #2: Generally, businesses that have a lot of loans will have a model, and the model will have certain inputs, including some of the things I mentioned and other macroeconomic indicators. You'll feed all your loans into that model, and it will give you your resulting calculation, which is then reviewed at several levels.

Speaker #2: Was that a full question, or was there another element?

Terise Kettle: Yes

Stephen Phillibert: was there another element?

Speaker #3: No, that was it for you, Steven. Thank you. Thank you for that in-depth response. Mr. Bonds, all right. So, the questions are coming in.

Terise Kettle: No, that was it for you.

Stephen Phillibert: Okay.

Terise Kettle: Stephen, thank you. Thank you for that in-depth response. The questions are coming in. Thank you, but keep them coming. We have another question here. Will Barita Financial Group be replacing BIL on the JSE? Ramon, I think that question is for you.

Speaker #3: Thank you, but keep them coming. So, we have another question here: Will BFG be replacing Bill on the JSC? Ramon, I think that question is for you.

Speaker #2: Okay, thanks, Therese. So, the question, just for the benefit of everyone, is whether the Barita Financial Group, that was formed in 2025 and was earlier this year awarded a financial holding company license by the Bank of Jamaica and is now the majority shareholder of Barita Investments Limited, whether it will be replacing Barita on the JSC.

Stephen Phillibert: I will take that one.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: Thanks, Terise. The question just for the benefit of everyone is whether the Barita Financial Group that was formed in 2025 and was earlier this year awarded a financial holding company license by the Bank of Jamaica and is now the majority shareholder of Barita Investments Limited, whether it will be replacing Barita on the JSE. The short answer to the question is that history in relation to companies of this nature would indicate that that is certainly a consideration, and I imagine that's why the question is coming. But as of now, Barita Investments still is and is intended to remain the listed company. Certainly, as a group, we'll give consideration to the efficacy of that kind of action, and to the extent that we contemplate going down that road, it will be the subject of appropriate socialization, consultation, and necessary approval across the various spheres, whether it's internal shareholders, regulators, as the case may be. But as of now, Barita Investments Limited, which has been listed since 2010, continues to be listed. And to the extent that any version of that will change, we will communicate appropriately and early.

Speaker #2: The short answer to the question is that history, in relation to companies of this nature, would, you know, indicate that that is certainly a consideration, and I imagine that's why the question is coming.

Speaker #2: But as of now, Barita Investments still is, and is intended to remain, the listed company. Certainly, as a group, we will give consideration to the efficacy of that kind of action, and to the extent that we contemplate going down that road, it will be the subject of appropriate socialization, consultation, and necessary approval across the various spheres, whether it's internal, shareholders, regulators, as the case may be. But as of now, Barita Investments Limited, which has been listed since 2010, continues to be listed, and to the extent that any version of that will change, we will communicate appropriately and early.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: Certainly, as a group, we'll give consideration to the efficacy of that kind of action, and to the extent that we contemplate going down that road, it will be the subject of appropriate socialization, consultation, and necessary approval across the various spheres, whether it's internal shareholders, regulators, as the case may be. But as of now, Barita Investments Limited, which has been listed since 2010, continues to be listed. And to the extent that any version of that will change, we will communicate appropriately and early.

Speaker #3: All right, thank you for that, Ramon. All right, we have another question here from the chat: Is there a relationship between macroeconomic conditions and reduced interest rates across your repo fixed income?

Terise Kettle: All right. Thank you for that, Ramon. All right, we have another question here from the chat. Is there a relationship between the macroeconomic conditions and reduced interest rates across your repo fixed income? Richard, I'm going to throw that one at you and allow anybody else to respond if they have anything else to add.

Speaker #3: Richard, I'm going to throw that one at you and allow anybody else to respond if they have anything else to add.

Speaker #1: Thanks. Thanks for that question, Therese. And yes, there is a direct link. In fact, of all our business lines, the net interest income line item is the most exposed to the decisions of the central bank.

Richardo Williams: Thanks for that question, Terise. And yes, there is a direct link. In fact, of all our business lines, the net interest income line item is the most exposed to the decisions of the central bank. As we mentioned earlier in my presentation, given where we are in the monetary policy cycle, at this point, what we have to do is to manage the price of our liabilities downwards given what is happening in terms of the monetary policy decisions of the central bank. If inflation actually upticks from here, then the likelihood is that we're going to see a further rate increase, certainly locally and in the more developed markets such as in the US, the markets are actually pricing a 70% odds that when the Fed meets in September, there could be a further price hike.

Speaker #1: And as we mentioned earlier in my presentation, given where we are in the monetary policy cycle at this point, what we have to do is manage the price of our liabilities.

Speaker #1: Downwards given what is happening in terms of the monetary policy decisions of the central bank. If inflation actually upticks from here, then the likelihood is that we're going to see a further rate increase, certainly locally. And in a more developed market, such as in the US, the markets are actually pricing a 70% odds that when the Fed meets in September, there could be a further rate hike.

Speaker #1: So that means your cost of your liabilities is likely to go up. So you have to try and manage those to ensure your net interest income actually shows a decent outturn.

Richardo Williams: So that means your cost of your liabilities are likely to go up, so you have to try and manage those to ensure your net interest income actually shows a decent outturn.

Speaker #1: So that's it.

Speaker #3: Okay, all right. Thank you for that, Ricardo. All right, another question for you, Ricardo. The Ethics Equity Growth Portfolio is losing traction.

Terise Kettle: Okay. All right. Thank you for that, Richardo. All right, another question for you, Richardo. The FX Growth Portfolio is losing traction. How come?

Terise Kettle: Okay. All right. Thank you for that, Richardo. All right, another question for you, Richardo. The FX Equity Growth Portfolio is losing traction. How come?

Speaker #3: How come?

Speaker #1: Okay. So so this is a very interesting question and and and perhaps a confounding outcome because the ethics growth portfolio is one of our best performing thing and just to for our our shareholders FX growth folder growth portfolio is invested primarily in global equities and the year to date in our our our performance is just over 23 um% and this is in US US dollars.

Richardo Williams: Well, this is a very interesting question and perhaps a confounding outcome because the FX Growth Portfolio is one of our best performing things. Just for our shareholders, FX Growth Portfolio is invested primarily in global equities, and year to date, our performance is just over 23%, and this is in USD. We surmise that what is happening is that perhaps some of the unitholders are taking profit, but it does not necessarily reflect the actual performance of the fund. As I indicate, it is actually the number one in its category year to date, given the numbers I mentioned just now. So that is it, Terise.

Speaker #1: We surmise that what is happening is that perhaps some of the unit holders are taking profit but it doesn't necessarily reflect the actual performance of the of the of the fund in as I indicate it is actually the number one in its in its category year to date given the the numbers I mentioned just now.

Speaker #1: So that's it Therese.

Speaker #3: All right. Thank you for that, Ricardo. All right, we have another question coming in. What is the projected investment in the development of the Eden Garden property, the timeline, and the expected returns?

Terise Kettle: All right. Thank you for that, Richardo. All right, we have another question coming in. What is the projected investment in the development of the Eden Gardens property, the timeline, and the expected returns? Ramon, this one is for you.

Speaker #3: Ramon, this one is for you.

Speaker #2: Thanks. So unfortunately, I'm going to give a disappointing answer. I'm going to describe where we are in the process and speak nonspecifically. So where we are in the process in relation to Eden Gardens is that, of course, we have cleared the site. We are in heavy predevelopment, and what that means is that we are down the road as it relates to design.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: Thanks. Unfortunately, I am going to give a disappointing answer. I am going to describe where we are in the process and speak non-specifically. Where we are in the process in relation to Eden Gardens is that, of course, we have cleared the site. We are in heavy pre-development, and what that means is that we are down the road as it relates to design. We are down the road as it relates to selecting the requisite partners to take the project forward. We are down the road as it relates to orchestrating approvals. With that in mind, any numbers that I would be able to give you are preliminary, and it would not be appropriate for me to put that forward, and of course, it extends to the returns. Rest assured that we are very well progressed with respect to the planning phase and the pre-development phase, and consequently, we are anticipating in terms of timeline, a groundbreaking, certainly during the next calendar year being 2027. We anticipate that we will be doing our groundbreaking with respect to that site. Hope that is enough to chew on. As things become clearer, trust me, we will tell you.

Speaker #2: We're down the road as it relates to selecting the requisite partners to take the project forward. We're down the road as it relates to orchestrating approvals. With that in mind, any numbers that I'd be able to give you are preliminary, and it wouldn't be appropriate for me to put that forward, and of course, that extends to the returns. But rest assured that we are very well progressed with respect to the planning fees and the pre-development fees, and consequently, we are anticipating, in terms of timeline, a groundbreaking certainly during the next calendar year. Being 2027, we anticipate that we'll be doing our groundbreaking with respect to that site.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: Rest assured that we are very well progressed with respect to the planning phase and the pre-development phase, and consequently, we are anticipating in terms of timeline, a groundbreaking, certainly during the next calendar year being 2027. We anticipate that we will be doing our groundbreaking with respect to that site. Hope that is enough to chew on. As things become clearer, trust me, we will tell you.

Speaker #2: So I hope that's enough to chew on. But as things become clearer, trust me, we'll tell you.

Speaker #3: All right. Thank you for that response, Ramon. All right, another question here: When might former G and fund managers, now Barita Fund Managers Limited clients, be able to access their accounts on the Barita platform?

Terise Kettle: All right. Thank you for that response, Ramon. All right, another question here. When might former JN Fund Managers, now Barita Fund Managers Limited clients, be able to access their accounts on the Barita platform?

Speaker #2: I'll probably comment on that because Richard would probably tell me I want to to have it happen tomorrow right. So it that's part of the the integration process that I mentioned before right having both entities speak credibly to one another and creating a seamless experience for our clientele across the board we're working hard in the background to take the best of both companies from a systems and client experience perspective and pass that through to the broader customer base right and a big part of that is is that integration where you're able to to see and feel your business across both entities.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: I will probably comment on that because Richardo will probably tell me, "I want to have it happen tomorrow." That is part of the integration process that I mentioned before. Having both entities speak credibly to one another and creating a seamless experience for our clientele across the board. We are working hard in the background to take the best of both companies from a systems and client experience perspective and pass that through to the broader customer base. A big part of that is that integration where you are able to see and feel your business across both entities. With that in mind, we have a target of early next year for the technology to catch up with our aspirations from a client experience perspective, where a client of BFM or a client of BIL or a client of both will have the same kind of experience. Bear with us.

Speaker #2: With that in mind, we have a target of early next year for the technology to catch up with our aspirations from a client experience perspective, where a client of BFM, or a client of Bill, or a client of both, will have the same kind of experience.

Speaker #2: So bear with us. We’re going to try and see how well we can accelerate that timeline, but early next year is when we’re thinking.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: We're going to try and see how well we can accelerate that timeline, but early next year is when we're thinking.

Speaker #3: Okay, early next year. Thank you for that, Ramon. So, Ramon, this question is for you, and I think the question is: When is Barita coming up with its app?

Terise Kettle: Okay, early next year. Thank you for that, Ramon. Ramon, this question is for you. I think the question is, when is Barita coming up with its app?

Speaker #2: Yeah, so it's a similar question to the previous one, I suppose, right? So this one is an interesting one to answer.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: Oh. It's a similar question to the previous one, I suppose, right? This one is an interesting one to answer. I'm trying to figure out how I answer it without giving away too much or giving away anything that I'm not intended to. But the truth is that the Barita Group has already established its app. We have a digital experience that we are very excited to bring to market, and we have already begun that process in a limited way. The focus in the initial instance will be our bank. Yes, the sister company of Barita Investments Limited, Barita Merchant Bank. We would have announced earlier this year that the bank has secured the requisite approvals to begin the process of introducing its digital banking experience to the market, and our intention is for that experience to expand and extend to Barita Investments as well.

Speaker #2: I'm trying to figure out how I answer it without giving away too much, or giving away anything that I'm not intended to.

Speaker #2: But the truth is that the Barita Group has already established its app, right? We have a digital experience that we are very excited to bring to market, and we have already begun that process in a limited way, right?

Speaker #2: And the focus in the initial instance will be our bank, yes, the sister company of Barita Investments Limited, Barita Merchant Bank. We would have announced earlier this year that the bank has secured the requisite approvals to begin the process of introducing its digital banking experience to the market, and our intention is for that experience to expand and extend to Barita Investments as well, right.

Speaker #2: I'm going to ask the person who asked that question to give me until the next investor briefing to give them a definitive response as to when Barita Investments will be present in relation to that app, right.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: I'm going to ask the person who asked that question to give me until the next investor briefing to give them a definitive response to when Barita Investments will be present in relation to that app. It's not a cop-out. I promise I'll have an answer for you next time around.

Speaker #2: It's not a couple, but from my side, I'll have an answer for you next time around.

Speaker #3: Okay, all right. So thank you for that question, and thank you for that response, Ramon. So, a few more questions are coming into the chat, and you know, these are some very interesting questions.

Terise Kettle: Okay. All right. Thank you for that question, and thank you for that response, Ramon. A few more questions are coming into the chat. These are some very interesting questions. This one, Ramon, you would have spoken about it. CariCRIS. CariCRIS, earlier this year in 24 August 2026, CariCRIS upgraded Barita by one notch. I want you to tell us from your perspective what goes into that upgrade and why is it that CariCRIS saw it fit to improve that rating for Barita.

Speaker #3: And this one, Ramon, you would have spoken about it. Carrie Chris—Carrie Chris earlier this year in August, August 2024—August 24, 2026, Carrie Chris upgraded Barita by one notch.

Speaker #3: I want you to tell us from your perspective, right, what goes into that upgrade and why is it that Kerry, Chris, and Syed fit to improve that rating for Barita?

Speaker #2: Thanks, Terry. So, so, CariCRIS is an independent ratings agency, right? And what that means is that they come in, assess the facts as they see them, and then they give their pronouncements or their conclusions in relation to the credit rating of the organization.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: Thanks, Terise. CariCRIS is an independent ratings agency. What that means is that they come in, assess the facts as they see them, and then they give their pronouncements or their conclusions in relation to the credit rating of the organization. Beyond what they have articulated in their report, I cannot quite speculate as to anything incremental as to what would have driven their ratings outcome. What they did say in the final report is that Barita, both organically and through the acquisition of Barita Fund Managers, has expanded its market share, therefore making it a much more robust and prominent organization in the Jamaican context. They spoke about our efforts to diversify revenue and the steeled focus on enhancing recurring and predictable revenues as being a strategy that also lowered business risk and enhanced their own view of the creditworthiness of the organization. They spoke about our declining funding costs as a critical part of our strategy. As well, they spoke about the fact that we have made deliberate steps to continue to improve our risk management framework, improve our governance as an organization, as another ingredient into what has ultimately been a ratings upgrade. All these factors came together and resulted in the conclusion around an upgrade. As I mentioned in my presentation, we are particularly proud of this because as an organization, we do not only aspire to grow, we aspire to grow responsibly, we aspire to grow sustainably as well. We want to build an enterprise that will ultimately have a framework enveloping it that protects it. We do not only want to build a valuable enterprise, we want to build an enterprise that is wrapped with risk management. This is a big deal for us as an organization, and we will continue to not only seek to grow. We will continue along the spectrum of improving our organization's creditworthiness and strength. Hopefully, we can get another upgrade down the line.

Speaker #2: So beyond what they've articulated in their report, I can't quite speculate as to anything incremental as to what would have driven their ratings outcome. But what they did say in the final report is that Barita, both organically and through the acquisition of Barita Fund Managers, has expanded its market share, therefore making it a much more robust and prominent organization in the Jamaican context.

Speaker #2: They spoke about our efforts to diversify revenue, and they stressed the focus on enhancing recurring and predictable revenues as being a strategy that also lowered business risk and enhanced their own view of the creditworthiness of the organization.

Speaker #2: They spoke about our declining funding costs, which is a critical part of our strategy as well. They spoke about the fact that we have made deliberate steps to continue to improve our risk management framework and improve our governance as an organization, as another ingredient into what has ultimately been a ratings upgrade. All these factors came together and resulted in the conclusion around an upgrade. As I mentioned in my presentation, we're particularly proud of this because as an organization, we don't only aspire to grow; we aspire to grow responsibly, we aspire to grow sustainably as well, right? And we want to build an enterprise that will ultimately have a framework enveloping it that protects it, right? So we don't only want to build a valuable enterprise, we want to build an enterprise that's wrapped with risk management.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: They spoke about our declining funding costs as a critical part of our strategy. As well, they spoke about the fact that we have made deliberate steps to continue to improve our risk management framework, improve our governance as an organization, as another ingredient into what has ultimately been a ratings upgrade. All these factors came together and resulted in the conclusion around an upgrade. As I mentioned in my presentation, we are particularly proud of this because as an organization, we do not only aspire to grow, we aspire to grow responsibly, we aspire to grow sustainably as well. We want to build an enterprise that will ultimately have a framework enveloping it that protects it. We do not only want to build a valuable enterprise, we want to build an enterprise that is wrapped with risk management.

Speaker #2: So this is a big deal for us as an organization, and we will continue to not only seek to grow, but we will continue along the spectrum of improving our organization's creditworthiness and strength.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: This is a big deal for us as an organization, and we will continue to not only seek to grow. We will continue along the spectrum of improving our organization's creditworthiness and strength. Hopefully, we can get another upgrade down the line.

Speaker #2: So, hopefully, we can get another upgrade down the line.

Speaker #3: All right, so thank you for that, Ramon. A few more questions coming in here. With headline inflation at 7.5%, which is above the Bank of Jamaica's 4-6% target, the policy rate held at 5.5%, hurricane Melissa damage estimated at around 57% of GDP, and the continuing Middle East geopolitical risk.

Terise Kettle: Right. Thank you for that, Ramon. Few more questions coming in here. With headline inflation at 7.5%, above the Bank of Jamaica's 4% to 6% target, the policy rate held at 5.5%, Hurricane Melissa damage estimated at around 57% of GDP, and the continuing Middle East geopolitical risk, what is management's positioning, and how is management positioning the group for the final quarter into 2026, 2027?

Speaker #3: What is management's positioning, and how is management positioning the group for the final quarter into 2026-2027?

Speaker #2: So I’ll lose things on economic right, so I’ll pass it to Richard about that, then end with how is management positioned in the group.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: All those things sound economic, right? I want to pass it to Richardo, but then they ended with how is management positioning the group. I think I have to take some part of it. What you've described are a confluence of factors that usually standalone have an adverse impact on most businesses. You're talking about Hurricane Melissa damage, inflation above target, which usually indicates that macroeconomic policy is going to tighten. Generally, an environment characterized by uncertainty, which is usually not fantastic for some of our business lines. As I have said in this forum before, our objective is to build a business for the long term. The organization turns 49 next week, and it's my intention to do as much as I can while I have stewardship over it to ensure that we make it to at least another 49 times three. With that in mind, our objective is twofold. One is to continue our focus on the underlying strategy of improving the business mix, diversifying along a certain target line, and enhancing the more resilient components of our revenue base despite the conditions. That is the kind of longer-term strategic approach. Growing asset management markets here through getting additional mandates, that's Richardo's orbit. Improving the yield on the balance sheet through the treasury and trading element of the business. Of course, through you, Terise, pushing the investment banking pipeline. That's from a revenue perspective. We also have to become more efficient. These kind of challenging times cause you to count every penny. As a business, we definitely are seeing how we can do things better, more efficiently, more cost-effectively, and so on. That is an underlying strategic push. From a tactical perspective, certainly we're seeing whether there are areas that we are particularly vulnerable in terms of our exposures to an environment like this, and we have already made proactive decisions to lighten exposures, and we'll continue to assess to see where in a high inflation environment we should be holding this or that. Certainly, our view with respect to the outlook is that these conditions will not persist perpetually. We have to run the business with that in mind. So have the right mix of tactical actions, lightening exposures where needs be, putting positions on that are, for example, counter-inflation where needs be, while maintaining that strong strategic thrust. Our view is that if things intensify, certainly there are elements of our business that will be affected for next quarter, the following quarter. But ultimately, we are looking forward to a recovery in the economy that has been telegraphed. I have said before that we anticipate that to the extent that the large-scale projects that have been projected by the government of Jamaica begin to be executed, that could be a tailwind to economic activity. Certainly, the hope is that the geopolitical risk resolves itself in the coming quarters, which could help with the inflation outlook. And of course, inflation abating could mean monetary policy begins to ease a bit or at least stays stationary. That is positive for some of the fixed income components of our business. And ultimately, we are looking forward to an environment with greater investor confidence, which is really probably the biggest tailwind that our business could get.

Speaker #2: So, I think I have to take some part of it, right? So what you've described are a confluence of factors that, usually, standing alone, have an adverse impact on most businesses, right?

Speaker #2: You’re talking about Hurricane Melissa, damage, inflation above target—which usually indicates that macroeconomic policy is going to tighten, right? And generally, an environment characterized by uncertainty, which is usually not fantastic for some of our business lines, right?

Speaker #2: So, as I have said in this forum before, our objective is to build a business for the long term, right? The organization turns 49 next week, right? And it's my intention to do as much as I can while I have stewardship over it to ensure that we make it to at least another 49 times three, right?

Speaker #2: So, with that in mind, our objective is twofold. One is to continue our focus on the underlying strategy of improving the business mix, diversifying along a certain target line, and enhancing the more resilient components of our revenue base.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: With that in mind, our objective is twofold. One is to continue our focus on the underlying strategy of improving the business mix, diversifying along a certain target line, and enhancing the more resilient components of our revenue base despite the conditions. That is the kind of longer-term strategic approach. Growing asset management markets here through getting additional mandates, that's Richardo's orbit. Improving the yield on the balance sheet through the treasury and trading element of the business. Of course, through you, Terise, pushing the investment banking pipeline. That's from a revenue perspective. We also have to become more efficient. These kind of challenging times cause you to count every penny. As a business, we definitely are seeing how we can do things better, more efficiently, more cost-effectively, and so on. That is an underlying strategic push.

Speaker #2: Despite the conditions right. And that is the the kind of longer term strategic approach. So growing asset management market share to getting additional mandates that's Richard's orbit improving the the yield on the balance sheet through the treasury and trading element of the business and of course through utilities pushing the investment banking pipeline right.

Speaker #2: That's from a revenue perspective. We also have to become more efficient. These kinds of challenging times cause you to count every penny, right? So, as a business, we definitely are seeing how we can do things better, more efficiently, more cost-effectively, and so on.

Speaker #2: And that is an underlying strategic push. From a tactical perspective, certainly we're seeing whether there are areas where we are particularly vulnerable in terms of our exposures to an environment like this, and we have already made proactive decisions to lighten exposures. We'll continue to assess to see whether, in a high inflation environment, we should be holding this or that, right.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: From a tactical perspective, certainly we're seeing whether there are areas that we are particularly vulnerable in terms of our exposures to an environment like this, and we have already made proactive decisions to lighten exposures, and we'll continue to assess to see where in a high inflation environment we should be holding this or that. Certainly, our view with respect to the outlook is that these conditions will not persist perpetually. We have to run the business with that in mind. So have the right mix of tactical actions, lightening exposures where needs be, putting positions on that are, for example, counter-inflation where needs be, while maintaining that strong strategic thrust. Our view is that if things intensify, certainly there are elements of our business that will be affected for next quarter, the following quarter.

Speaker #2: Certainly, our view with respect to the outlook is that these conditions will not persist perpetually, so we'll have to run the business with that in mind.

Speaker #2: So, have the right mix of tactical actions, lightning exposures where needs be, putting positions on that are, for example, counter-inflation where needs be, while maintaining that strong strategic thrust.

Speaker #2: So our view is that if things intensify, certainly there are elements of our business that will be affected for next quarter, the following quarter.

Speaker #2: But ultimately, we're looking forward to a recovery in the economy. That has been telegraphed, right? I have said before that we anticipate that, to the extent that the large-scale projects that have been projected by the Government of Jamaica begin to be executed, that could be a tailwind to economic activity. Certainly, the hope is that the geopolitical risk resolves itself in the coming quarters, which could help with the inflation outlook. And of course, inflation abating could mean monetary policy begins to ease a bit, or at least stay stationary. That's positive for some of the fixed income components of our business.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: But ultimately, we are looking forward to a recovery in the economy that has been telegraphed. I have said before that we anticipate that to the extent that the large-scale projects that have been projected by the government of Jamaica begin to be executed, that could be a tailwind to economic activity. Certainly, the hope is that the geopolitical risk resolves itself in the coming quarters, which could help with the inflation outlook. And of course, inflation abating could mean monetary policy begins to ease a bit or at least stays stationary. That is positive for some of the fixed income components of our business. And ultimately, we are looking forward to an environment with greater investor confidence, which is really probably the biggest tailwind that our business could get.

Speaker #2: And ultimately, we're looking forward to an environment with greater investor confidence, which is really probably the biggest tailwind that our business could get, right?

Terise Kettle: All right. So thank you again for that robust response. A lot of our investors and persons on our investor briefing here today are interested in what is happening with our real estate portfolio. So I got another question here for you, the team here. Management describes the real estate platform as moving from valuation-led returns towards a development-led model, with demolition completed at Harbour Street and Eden Gardens and a third site in advanced planning, and Bernhard Stocker appointed as CEO of the platform. When can shareholders expect the platform to generate actual cash flow, and what returns are being targeted?

Speaker #3: All right, so thank you again for that robust response. You know, a lot of our investors, and the persons on our investor briefing here today, are interested in what's happening with our real estate portfolio.

Speaker #3: So, I got another question here for you. The team here in management describes the real estate platform as moving from valuation-led returns towards a development-led model.

Speaker #3: With demolition completed at Harbor Street and Eden Gardens, and a third site in advanced planning, and Bernard Stucker appointed as CEO of the platform, when can shareholders expect the platform to generate actual cash flow, and what returns are being targeted?

Speaker #2: I think this one is for me again, right? So I will give some version of the response that I gave before, but expanded. In relation to when returns, or rather cash flow, is anticipated from the platform, we do have a fairly small project that we expect to get to conclusion the fastest.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: I think this one is for me again. So I will give some version of the response that I gave before, but expanded. So in relation to when returns, or rather cash flow, is anticipated from the platform, we do have a fairly small project that we expect to get to conclusion the fastest, which is a modern warehouse that we are commissioning the construction of in Ferry. I am anticipating that by the end of next year, calendar year, certainly we should either be at the end of that road or very close to the end of that road, and by extension, realized cash flows from that project. Beyond that, we are anticipating that Eden Gardens is probably next in line, and we have two other sites that are active, both from a pre-development perspective and ultimate execution perspective. So that gives you an idea of timing. In terms of returns, for us, one, the return component in relation to these properties is kind of twofold. Of course, there is a return on the land, which we have been benefiting from over time, and the return expectations with respect to the projects that we are pursuing are well within the range of typical returns in relation to real estate development. So you are talking about returns anywhere from 25% on the amount invested to 45%, depending on the nature of the real estate. And these are returns on total project cost invested, which usually means that the return to the equity holder is a multiple of that, four or five times sometimes. So we are not looking at return profiles that are too far outside of that range, just to give you an idea, on top of what would have been generated in relation to the landholdings thus far. I think I've answered the question re timing. I think I've spoken about the kind of returns.

Speaker #2: which is a modern warehouse that we are commissioning the construction of in Ferry. I am anticipating that by the end of next calendar year, certainly, we should either be at the end of that road or very close to the end of that road and, by extension, realize cash flows from that project.

Speaker #2: Beyond that, we are anticipating that Eden Gardens is probably next in line, and we have two other sites that are active—both from a pre-development perspective and an ultimate execution perspective.

Speaker #2: Right. So that gives you an idea of timing. In terms of returns for us, one, the return component in relation to these properties is kind of twofold.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: In terms of returns, for us, one, the return component in relation to these properties is kind of twofold. Of course, there is a return on the land, which we have been benefiting from over time, and the return expectations with respect to the projects that we are pursuing are well within the range of typical returns in relation to real estate development. So you are talking about returns anywhere from 25% on the amount invested to 45%, depending on the nature of the real estate. And these are returns on total project cost invested, which usually means that the return to the equity holder is a multiple of that, four or five times sometimes. So we are not looking at return profiles that are too far outside of that range, just to give you an idea, on top of what would have been generated in relation to the landholdings thus far.

Speaker #2: Of course, there's a return on the land which we've been benefiting from over time, and the return expectations with respect to the projects that we're pursuing are well within the range of typical returns in relation to real estate development.

Speaker #2: So, you're talking about returns anywhere from 25% on the amount invested to 45%, depending on the nature of the real estate. And these are returns on total project cost invested, which usually means that the return to the equity holder is a multiple of that.

Speaker #2: Four, five times sometimes, right? So without looking at return profiles that are too far outside of that range, just to give you an idea on top of what would have been generated in relation to the land holdings thus far.

Speaker #2: So I think I've answered the question regarding timing. I think I've spoken about the kind of returns.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: I think I've answered the question re timing. I think I've spoken about the kind of returns.

Speaker #3: Cash flow.

Speaker #2: Timing of cash flow as well, which is—first project is anticipated to be done from about the end of next year, yeah. So I think I've covered half the question.

Terise Kettle: Cash flow.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: Timing of cash flow as well, which is first project is anticipated to be done around about the end of next year. Yeah. I think I've covered off the question.

Speaker #3: All right. Thank you. And I think this might be the last question that we have here today coming in. And I think we would have spoken a little bit about this, right?

Terise Kettle: All right. Thank you. I think this might be the last question that we have here today coming in. I think we would have spoken a little bit about this, right? The question here is, during the quarter, the Bank of Jamaica granted a financial holding company license to Barita Financial Group. Cornerstone Trust & Merchant Bank was renamed as Barita Merchant Bank, and JN Fund Managers was renamed Barita Fund Managers. What do consolidated supervision and the rebranding mean for Barita Investments specifically?

Speaker #3: But the question here is: during the quarter, the Bank of Jamaica granted a financial holding company license to Barita Financial Group. Cornerstone Trust and Merchant Bank was renamed as Barita Merchant Bank, and JN Fund Managers was renamed Barita Fund Managers.

Speaker #3: What do consolidated supervision and the rebranding mean for Barita Investments specifically?

Speaker #2: All right, so let me attempt to answer this. Let me talk about the client first and foremost. What excites us about this reorganization is that it's not the regulatory implications alone, right?

Ramon Small-Ferguson: All right. Let me attempt to answer this. Let me talk about the client first and foremost. What excites us about this reorganization is it's not the regulatory implications alone, right? I will speak about that probably third. It's the impact that it potentially means that we can have on the reason we exist, which is our customers, right? So it puts us in a position to deliver a much more fulfilling and complete financial experience for the customers that we serve. So the unification of the bank and Barita under one brand is incidental to that fact. Operating in this financial group allows us to offer banking services, investment services to clients across both entities. That's particularly exciting. The other implication of consolidated supervision is obviously the additional layer of oversight from the Bank of Jamaica down into the subsidiaries, which I think for whether it's shareholders, bondholders, customers, all stakeholders, that should give some additional assurance with respect to the level of oversight supervision that the organizations are under, and that's important for us as well as a business. It really gives us flexibility as well in terms of how we manage resources internally as a group with this financial holding company structure in place to ensure that there is free flowing of liquidity and capital throughout the group, which helps with enterprise risk management. So that's a third benefit of operating in this way. From our perspective, it's unambiguously positive for all stakeholders, and we are excited, in particular, to bring the customer element of things to bear over time.

Speaker #2: And I'll speak about that probably third. It's the impact that it potentially means that we can have on the reason we exist, which is our customers, right.

Speaker #2: So it puts us in a position to deliver a much more fulfilling and complete financial experience for the customers that we serve. The unification of the bank and Barita under one brand is incidental to that fact.

Speaker #2: So, operating in this financial group allows us to offer banking services and investment services to clients across both entities. That's particularly exciting. The other implication of consolidated supervision is, obviously, the additional layer of oversight from the Bank of Jamaica down into the subsidiaries, which I think for, whether it's shareholders, bondholders, customers, all stakeholders, that should give some additional assurance with respect to the level of oversight and supervision that the organizations are under, and that's important.

Ramon Small-Ferguson: The other implication of consolidated supervision is obviously the additional layer of oversight from the Bank of Jamaica down into the subsidiaries, which I think for whether it's shareholders, bondholders, customers, all stakeholders, that should give some additional assurance with respect to the level of oversight supervision that the organizations are under, and that's important for us as well as a business. It really gives us flexibility as well in terms of how we manage resources internally as a group with this financial holding company structure in place to ensure that there is free flowing of liquidity and capital throughout the group, which helps with enterprise risk management. So that's a third benefit of operating in this way. From our perspective, it's unambiguously positive for all stakeholders, and we are excited, in particular, to bring the customer element of things to bear over time.

Speaker #2: For us, as well as a business, it really gives us flexibility as well in terms of how we manage resources internally as a group, with this financial holding company structure in place, to ensure that there's free flowing of liquidity and capital throughout the group, which helps with enterprise risk management.

Speaker #2: So that's a third benefit of operating in this way. So, you know, from our perspective, it's unambiguously positive for all stakeholders, and we are excited in particular to bring the customer element of things to bear over time.

Speaker #3: All right. So, ladies and gentlemen, there you have it. Thank you again for joining us today for our Barita Beat session—a session where we're talking to our investors and sharing as much information as possible about what is happening with Barita Investments Limited.

Terise Kettle: All right. So ladies and gentlemen, there you have it. Thank you again for joining us today for our The Barita Beat session, a session where we're talking to our investors and sharing as much information as possible about what is happening with Barita Investments Limited. This afternoon's session reflects continued transformation of Barita to a more digitally integrated, adaptable, and forward-looking financial services entity, supported by strong financial performance, disciplined execution, and a clear long-term strategy. As we continue to strengthen our platform across investment banking, wealth management, pension fund management, asset management, foreign exchange trading, and real estate development, our focus remains on delivering value to our stakeholders through innovation, strategic growth and operational excellence. We appreciate your continued confidence and support as we deliberately execute on our strategy.

Speaker #3: This afternoon's session reflects the continued transformation of Barita to a more digitally integrated, adaptable, and forward-looking financial services entity, supported by strong financial performance, disciplined execution, and a clear long-term strategy.

Speaker #3: As we continue to strengthen our platform across investment banking, wealth management, pension fund management, asset management, foreign exchange trading, and real estate development, our focus remains on delivering value to our stakeholders through innovation, strategic growth, and operational excellence.

Speaker #3: We appreciate your continued confidence and support as we deliberately execute on our strategy. If you missed any part of the presentation today, or if you'd like to recap this conversation that we had today, please feel free to visit us at our website: www.barita.com/beat.

Terise Kettle: If you missed any part of this presentation today, or you'd like to recap this conversation that we had today, please feel free to visit us at our website, www.barita.com/beat. On behalf of the entire Barita team, we'd like to thank you for spending your afternoon with us. We look forward to our next conversation. Good afternoon.

Speaker #3: On behalf of the entire Barita team, we'd like to thank you for spending your afternoon with us. We look forward to our next conversation.

Speaker #3: Good afternoon.

Speaker #1: So you see, this by itself isn't enough, all right? Unless it produces, it is dead and useless, right?

[Company Representative] (Barita Investments): So you see, faith by itself is not enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.

Speaker #4: Christine Watson, Manager for Muster C Community Service Base here in Gordon Town. We cater for 24 residents who are severely disabled. Their conditions range from cerebral palsy to seizure disorders and other underlying conditions.

Christine Watson: Christine Watson, manager for Mustard Seed Communities here in Gordon Town. We cater for 24 residents who are severely disabled. Their condition ranges from cerebral palsy to seizure disorder and other underlying conditions. Being a nonprofit organization, we always welcome partnership from the outside. Today with us is Barita Foundation, and they bring their time and their talent to be with us today. We just want to say thank you so much, Barita. Thank you for all that you have done for us today, and I hope we continue this partnership. Thank you.

Speaker #4: Being a nonprofit organization, we always welcome partnerships from the outside. And today with us is the Barita Foundation, and they bring your time and their talent to deal with us today.

Speaker #4: And we just want to say thank you so much, Barita. Thank you for all that you have done for us today, and I hope we continue this partnership.

Speaker #4: Thank you.

Speaker #5: Hello, I'm Alexia Blair. I'm the Director of Hello Speech Therapy, and I'm the founder of Camp Hello. Camp Hello is Jamaica's first and only speech therapy camp dedicated to children with complex communicative needs.

Alexia Blair: Hello, I am Alexia Blair. I am the Director of Hello! Speech Therapy Ltd., and I am the founder of Camp Hello. Camp Hello is Jamaica's first and only speech therapy camp dedicated to children with complex communicative needs. Here we have our kiddos. Most of our kiddos have autism, or they have a speech or language delay, and we are helping them to learn to communicate. We have invited the parents to participate in camp as well, and we are teaching them techniques that they can carry over at home. So we are giving them AAC, alternative augmentative communication, and we are showing them sign as well, and picture exchange cards that they can use at home. We are also helping them with behavior management. The children who have a lot of tantrums

Speaker #5: So here we have our kiddos. Most of our kiddos have autism or they have a speech or language delay, and we're helping them to learn to communicate.

Speaker #5: We have invited the parents to participate in camp as well, and we're teaching them techniques that they can carry over at home. So we're giving them AAC—augmentative and alternative communication—and we're showing them sign as well and picture exchange cards that they can use at home.

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Q3 2026 Barita Investments Ltd Earnings Call

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