VMBS purchases minority stake in Prime Asset Management Ltd

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The Boards of Directors of Prime Asset Management Ltd (Prime) and The Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS) are pleased to announce that VMBS has purchased a minority stake in Prime, representing 20% of the outstanding shares.

• Prime Asset Management Ltd. is Jamaica’s only independent pension services provider with assets under management of over $18 Billion (US$250 Million) and provides pension administration services to over 3,500 plan members. Prime has exhibited robust growth in funds under management attributable to its superior investment management returns and quality service to our valued clients, which include many blue-chip Jamaican companies.

• The Victoria Mutual Building Society is one of Jamaica’s oldest and well-respected financial institutions with assets of $44B and net income of $470M for the year recently completed. Victoria Mutual provides a range of competitive financial solutions including mortgage, savings and investment products to meet the varying needs of Jamaicans at home and in the Diaspora with 15 Branches island wide and Representative Offices in Canada, UK and USA.

In speaking about the partnership, Richard K. Powell, President and CEO, Victoria Mutual noted “This will allow Victoria Mutual to diversify its product portfolio even further. As soon as approval is received from the Financial Services Commission, VMBS will be able to offer Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), which is a very attractive pension product to self-employed persons and contract employees who are not already covered under an approved pension plan. We are all proud and excited about this development for Victoria Mutual as it represents the achievement of a major strategic goal that we had set for ourselves some time ago”.

Prime’s Vice-Chairman, Joseph M. Matalon, said “ We are indeed pleased that a large corporate entity such as VMBS has recognised the value and growth potential of Prime, resulting in a partnership being created. The Board and Management will seek to leverage our combined strengths to offer new products, and as importantly, to continue to create value for our clients while continuously improving service standards”.

Two directors were nominated by Victoria Mutual to represent its interest on the Board. They are Allan Lewis, Senior Vice-President, Group Strategy, Victoria Mutual and Richard K. Powell, President & CEO.