Access Financial targets $7b loan book

Access Financial Services Limited aims to grow its loan portfolio by up to 17 per cent towards $7 billion.

The company will target small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and entities seeking renewable financing for most of that growth. That’s in contrast to its core personal micro lending.

Its loan book stands at about $6 billion, and CEO Hugh Campbell revealed plans to grow that figure by $500 million to $1 billion by the end of the financial year.

“We are being a little more deliberate and intentional on the business side. Especially on the SME side,” Campbell told the Financial Gleaner after the company’s annual general meeting.

Business lending already outpaces the rest of the book. Access grew its business loan portfolio 15.8 per cent to $703.1 million in the 2026 financial year from $607.2 million. Horizon, a product for women entrepreneurs, helped drive that growth.

Green lending gives Access a second source of expansion. The company plans to lend out more than $700 million from an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) facility for green projects.

The target would reverse a shrinking loan book. At June 30, loans and advances stood at $5.99 billion, 4.0 per cent lower than a year earlier.

Asked whether the new target was achievable, he said: “Absolutely! But more on the SME side”.

First-quarter net profit fell 24 per cent to $102 million. Total assets rose 5.0 per cent to $8.20 billion, and equity climbed 6.0 per cent to $3.7 billion.

Campbell said competition has squeezed personal lending, where banks, credit unions, and microfinance companies all chase the same borrowers. Larger SME loans offer Access a faster route to portfolio growth, while the company continues to defend its traditional micro-business franchise.

Technology sits at the centre of the plan. Chairman Michael Shaw told shareholders that Access would “constantly leverage technology and drive innovation”, and said product diversity and differentiation matter more as competition intensifies. Campbell said the company already uses technology to process more loans, cut downtime, and lift productivity. Access built its strategy for the 2027 financial year around growth, sustainable profitability, and customer empowerment.

The growth push follows a year of disruption. Hurricane Melissa hit seven or eight Access branches in western and southern Jamaica, including locations in St Elizabeth, Manchester, Westmoreland, and Montego Bay, Campbell said. Customers got a three-month moratorium on loan payments.

Campbell said all staff have returned to their branches, and operations are “back to normal”. The Black River branch, which the storm hit hardest, has recovered faster than management expected.

The customer base has not fully recovered, however. Shaw said many western hotels and their workers, who make up part of Access’ clientele, are still rebuilding, and the lender has tightened its underwriting as a result.

neville.graham@gleanerjm.com