Capital and Credit Financial Group (CCFG) has relocated its securities trading subsidiary from Trafalgar Road to Grenada Way, beside the group's larger merchant banking operation in New Kingston.

"It's a consolidation of Capital and Credit banking operations," said CCFG chairman Ryland Campbell, "The bank is next door, and Capital and Credit Securities is now here."

The move also brings unit trust managers, Capital and Credit Fund Managers Limited - a unit of Capital and Credit Securities Limited (CCSL) - to the new location, "so you are having the major part of the Capital and Credit Financial Group housed in one area, and inter-related," said Campbell.

The relocations centralise all major group operations at one address.

Capital and Credit spent $9 million to ready the 4,500 square feet of office space, saying the move would be a cost-saver in the long term.

"It's not so much about the investment," said CCSL General Manager Christopher Walker, "but more about keeping things tight; because when income comes under pressure in terms of margins and in terms of volume of business, you want to manage your expenses."

No jobs were affected, the company said.

Within the CCFG structure, Capital and Credit Securities is a subsidiary of the Capital and Credit Merchant Bank Limited (CCMB).

Profitable

CCFG, which now turns over more than $5 billion per annum, is a $44-billion company by assets, the majority of which is reposited in CCMB.

The group remains profitable but reported a near one-third fall in nine-month profit at September 2009, from $351 million to $236 million.

"What we are looking to do at this new location is to enhance the portfolio management offering that we have currently, so we are beefing up on our staff allocation in that area, in terms of quality; not necessarily in terms of numbers," Walker said.

mark.titus@gleanerjm.com