• Caribbean businesses will soon benefit from a new Risk Sharing Guarantee Facility agreement being jointly spearheaded by FirstCaribbean International Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Under a new proposed partnership between the two entities, Caribbean businesses will be able to tap into US$200 million in funding geared towards tourism and small infrastructure projects, which will be chosen for their ability to contribute to economic growth in the region.
The programme, which is being piloted initially in Jamaica, will allow FirstCaribbean to expand its lending to projects in partnership with the IDB, through the availability of the IDB’s partial credit guarantees and direct loans.
The deal is not exclusive to major companies, since smaller businesses are also eligible for mid-size corporate loans for the purposes of diversification.
It is anticipated that the risk-sharing arrangement will ultimately be expanded to other IDB member countries in which FirstCaribbean has a presence. •

• One Caribbean Media group's performance for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008 improved over the comparable period last year, OCM chairman Sir Fred Gollop said in the group's unaudited financial statements published recently.
Sales and other revenue of TT$116 million for the quarter reflect an increase of 12 per cent over the TT$103 million during the corresponding period in 2007, while group profit attributable to shareholders of TT$14.6 million was 16 per cent higher than the TT$12.6 million earned in the first quarter of 2007, the company said.
The integration of radio stations acquired in Trinidad, St Lucia, St Kitts and Antigua within the OCM group proceeded seamlessly, Sir Fred said, adding that "Despite concerns about regional economies, we have put initiatives in place which we anticipate will translate into improved results in 2008."
• For the first half of the financial year 2008, Republic Bank Limited (RBL) after tax profit fell 20.5% from the TT$859m recorded in the same period last year to TT$683.4m.
The period produced an EPS of TT$3.93, a 22.8% decline from the $5.09 EPS of the comparable period of 2007.
But, notes Bourse Securities, both periods included one-off gains which, if excluded, would paint a different picture of the bank’s performance.
The first half of 2007 included a TT$370 million gain from the sale of the bank’s shareholding in FirstCaribbean International Bank, while the first half of 2008 included an after tax gain of TT$82 million from the allocation of shares in VISA Inc. Excluding these non-recurring items, core earnings grew by 23% from TT$443.8m to $547.6m.
The Bank’s Total Assets increased over the comparative period by 9.5%, while Total Shareholders’ Equity improved by 15.9%. •

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