The Board of Directors is pleased to release the following un-audited results for National Commercial Bank Jamaica Limited (NCBJ) and its subsidiaries for the quarter ended 31 December 2008

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
Quarter ended December 2008 compared with Quarter ended December 2007

• Net Profit of $2,383 million, grew by $524 million or 28%.
• Earnings per Stock Unit of $0.97 increased by $0.21 or 28%.
• Operating Revenue of $6,307 million, a 13% increase.
• Cost to Income Ratio of 51.8% vs. 54.1%.
• Risk-Based Capital Ratio of 13.02% vs. 16.72%.
• Net Loans of $84.1 billion, grew by 40%.
• Investment Securities of $152.4 billion, grew by $2.9 billion.
• Customer Deposits of $128.1 billion, an increase of 10%.
• Return on Average Equity of 30.18% vs. 25.32%.
• Return on Average Assets of 3.29% vs. 2.90%.

Quarter ended December 2008 compared with Quarter ended September 2008

• Net Profit of $2,383 million, grew by 23% or $439 million.
• Earnings per Stock Unit increased by $0.18 or 23%.
• Return on Average Equity of 30.18% vs. 24.39%
• Return on Average Assets of 3.29% vs. 2.72%.

SEGMENT PERFORMANCE
Banking
Despite difficult market conditions and increased volatility in global financial markets, the Banking segment’s results reflect an increase of $243 million or 12% over the December 2007 quarter. The improved results were driven mainly by growth in the Corporate and Retail loan portfolios and fee and commissions income:

• interest income from loans increased by 37% due to the growth in the loan portfolio.
• net fee & commission income grew by 6%.

Loans and advances totalled $84.1 billion (net of provision for credit losses) as at 31 December 2008 compared to $60.0 billion as at 31 December 2007. Our net loans to total assets ratio, one of our key strategic measures, has improved from 23.14% at December 2007 to 29.15% at December 2008. As at 31 December 2008, non-performing loans totaled $2.2 billion and represented 2.52% of the gross loans compared to 2.51% as at 31 December 2007.

Our provision coverage as at December 2008 was 149.3% compared to 153.0% at December 2007. NCBJ remains the largest commercial bank when measured by assets and branch network, and we believe these advantages provide significant opportunities for strong growth. Based on the latest commercial banking industry information as at September 2008 from the Bank of Jamaica, NCBJ had the #1 market share of Total Loans.

Wealth Management
Our wealth and asset management segment contributed operating profits of $480 million for the three months ended December 2008. NCB Capital Markets Limited (NCBCM) the main contributor to this segment provided 87% of the operating profits. NCBCM maintains a solid capital base of over $7 billion and remains a strong, stable player in the industry.

Insurance
Our insurance segment contributed operating profits of $340 million for the quarter ended December 2008, representing an increase of $246 million over the corresponding quarter of the prior year. NCB Insurance Company Limited (NCBIC) is the major contributor to this segment and achieved a net profit of $315 million, a $223 million increase when compared to the December 2007 quarter.

Overall, our segment results reflect the careful and strategic management of customer relationships and needs, expert management of interest rate spreads and proactive and effective management of our costs.

CAPITAL
The Group’s Stockholders’ Equity of $31.9 billion increased by $1.7 billion or 6% when compared to 31 December 2007.

The Risk-Based Capital Ratio for NCBJ was 13.02% which exceeds the minimum requirement of 10% stipulated by the Bank of Jamaica. The Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio for NCBCM was 64.41% which exceeds the minimum requirement of 10% stipulated by the Financial Services Commission. NCBIC reported a Solvency Ratio of 16.0% which exceeds the minimum requirement of 10% stipulated by the Financial Services Commission.

DIVIDENDS
On 22 January 2009, the Board declared an interim dividend of $0.28 per ordinary stock unit. The dividend is payable on 19 February 2009 for stockholders on record as at 06 February 2009.

AWARDS
We are extremely pleased to advise our shareholders that for the first time, NCBJ was awarded the “2008 Bank of the Year in Jamaica” by the Financial Times’ Banker Magazine. The recognition of being named Bank of the Year by the world’s longest running international banking title is testament to our strong management and prudent risk approach. We also dominated the annual Jamaica Stock Exchange Best Practice Awards in December 2008; NCBJ won the Best Practices Corporate Disclosure & Investor Relations award, the Governor General’s Award for Excellence (shared) and placed third for the Best Practices Annual Report award; and NCBCM won second place for Best Practices Corporate Disclosure & Investor Relations.

COMMUNITY RELATIONS
The Group continued to make good on its pledge to be a leading corporate citizen by targeting those areas that are important to nation building. Over $15 million in donations were made during the quarter specifically in the areas of Education, Sports, Entrepreneurship and Community Development.

EDUCATION
In October, the N.C.B. Foundation, in collaboration with the Government of Jamaica, sponsored the Olympic “Pass the Torch” school tours. The school tours saw our triumphant Olympic athletes visit 10 schools across the island to give inspirational messages to over 15,000 students who were in attendance. The athletes spoke of self-empowerment, working hard for success, pride in oneself, and making choices that will transform dreams into reality

In November, we paid the 2009 CXC/CSEC Principles of Business and Principles of Accounts examination fee for 4,200 students; these fees amounted to $5.5 million. This fee sponsorship programme targets schools with students that are adequately prepared to sit these examinations but need financial assistance.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
The N.C.B. Foundation partnered with the Digicel Rising Stars competition and worked with its top five finalists to develop projects that would positively impact their communities. The project involved the upgrading of the Flankers’ Community Centre IT Lab, and the Remnant ECI Basic School located in Little London, Westmoreland.

We wish to express our deep appreciation to our staff members for their commitment and dedication to excellence in their work and for their enthusiastic involvement in the Group’s philanthropic pursuits. We also wish to express our sincere gratitude to our customers for their loyalty and continued support.