Scotia Group reports steady profit, robust loan activity
Published:Wednesday | September 10, 2025 | 12:06 AM
Banking conglomerate Scotia Group Jamaica Limited, SGJ, posted steady third-quarter profit of $5.6 billion, a gain of just two per cent.
There was a downward revision in the group’s pension plan assets by $19.4 billion, following the application of new accounting guidelines, which resulted in a comprehensive loss of $7.6 billion.
“You might see some swings on the balance sheet … and its effect on our comprehensive income numbers, but you will never see that in our profit and loss,” said Scotia Group President and CEO Audrey Tugwell Henry on Monday at an investor briefing.
“Because we build core growth, the underlying business remains strong,” she said.
Scotia Group operates Jamaica’s second-largest commercial bank and is also in the business of investment banking, mortgage lending and insurance.
The accounting shift — specifically a reduction in the discount rate and asset ceiling — impacted the fair value of pension assets but did not affect actual pension payments or the group’s surplus. SGJ adjusts the value of its pension assets every three months. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica issues assumptions to guide these changes, SGJ noted.
“It does not impact pension portfolio or payments itself … but it impacts the fair value of the pension asset on the group’s balance sheet,” said Chief Financial Officer Gabrielle O’Connor. “Those adjustments are reflected in ‘other comprehensive income’.”
Liquidity also tightened, net cash holdings falling from $114 billion to $74 billion year-over-year. The decline was attributed to capital deployment in support of loan growth.
“Reduction in cash is caused by our excellent growth in our loan portfolio,” O’Connor added.
SGJ’s assets climbed by nine per cent to $752.8 billion in the July third quarter, bolstered by double-digit growth in total loans and mortgages up 17 per cent and 22 per cent, respectively.
Over nine months to July, profit inched up to $14.8 billion from $14 billion.
The results reflect continued momentum in core banking operations, driven by strong loan growth and expanding client relationships.
“The underlying strategy is not a market-share strategy, but a client-primacy strategy,” said Tugwell Henry.
Client primacy is about nudging clients into adding new services that they currently do not use, the aim being “to get a deeper wallet share from our clients,” said Tugwell Henry.
Looking ahead, Scotia Group is optimistic with the successful conclusion of general elections last week.
“I see a reassuring level of political maturity in the country, which feeds my optimism in Scotiabank continuing to do business in Jamaica,” she said.