Dionne Rose, Business Reporter

Minna Israel, managing director of RBTT Jamaica.

Minna Israel has given herself three to five years to narrow the gap between RBTT Bank and the top players in the market, the banker tells the Financial Gleaner.

RBTT is a distant third in the market behind Scotiabank Jamaica and National Commercial Bank, which together have a lock on about two-thirds of the commercial banking sector.

But Israel, who was named managing director in January, comes to the bank as it is switching ownership from Trinidad's RBTT Financial Holdings to Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), the top bank in its home market. The merger will create, the parties say, one of the Caribbean's largest banks.

Israel wants to ride that wave.

The plan to rebrand the RBTT branches with the Royal Bank logo will likely give her that opportunity to reposition.

But Israel - who formerly worked with the Scotiabank group, Canada's number four bank, and was head of BNS Bahamas before RBTT wooed her - says she sees opportunity to grow her market here by building her strategy on good client service.

Customer delivery

"Through customer relationship management and customer delivery we will really narrow the gap," she told the Financial Gleaner.

"I am looking forward over the next three, five years to really take RBTT Jamaica to a level where customers will partner with us," she said.

Israel, former managing director of Scotiabank Bahamas said, the merger of RBTT and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), would move the financial institution to one of the largest in the region.

RBTT Jamaica is number three of six commercial banks here, with assets of $54 billion in a sector whose holdings were valued in December at $504 billion.

Closing the gap

FirstCaribbean Jamaica, at $46 billion and number four in the market, has been closing that gap, but Israel signalled that her plan is not to look behind, but ahead to take on the bigger fish. She does not expect it to be easy. On the contrary.

"That is going to be difficult," she said. "Our growth could be both organically and through acquisitions."

The RBTT managing director said the merger with RBC, which should be completed soon, would offer huge opportunities for RBTT Jamaica.

Israel said that the bank will also seek to improve the capital base, now at $8.3 billion according to the most recent central bank figures, suggesting that an infusion of capital was on the cards.

NCB's and BNS' are near equal at above $19 billion each.

"Right now," Israel said, "RBTT Jamaica is constrained by our capital base."

"With a Royal Bank parent, the sky's the limit in terms of having their support within the form of a guarantee or a comfort letter."

She said the merger would have multiple effects and would also offer opportunities for the staff in terms of career advancement and growth.

"We will achieve our objectives of being the dominant bank, the leading bank in the Caribbean," she said of the merged entity.

With more than US$13.7 billion in assets, the combined operations will have 130 branches across the Caribbean, with close to 7,000 employees serving more than 1.6 million clients.

dionne.rose@gleanerjm.com