Targeting high-net-worth individuals for assets-based lending

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Growing micro financier Dolla Financial Services is forming a new subsidiary, Ultra Financier Limited.

Dolla’s Board recently gave approval for the formation of the wholly owned subsidiary, which is being created to provide high value assets-based lending to high-net-worth individuals, which Dolla’s CEO, Kadeen Mairs, says he is pioneering in Jamaica. This is based on his belief that there exist a high demand in the Jamaican market for this kind of loan solution, which he argues has the potential to expand Dolla’s growth in the Jamaican and regional loan market.

Explaining the concept, Mairs told Our Today that individual borrowers can use their luxury assets that they own such as yachts, Rolex watches, expensive bracelets, antique cars and paintings as collateral to access financing.

He has been “toying” with this concept for the last three to five years, having been studying a lot of international companies that offer these types of service.

David Henriques appointed CEO

The Dolla CEO explained that his board has decided that now is the best time to launch Ultra Financier Limited, as a wholly own subsidiary of Dolla. He advised that Dolla has been searching for talent to run this operations, appointing David Henriques, as the CEO for the new subsidiary. Henriques was recruited from ATL Group, where he was the executive in charge of the Porsche dealership to join Dolla Financial Service.

Henriques, who had been with Porsche since 2017, rising to the rank of head of business at Porsche Jamaica, is to take up his post at Dolla in the coming days.

Commenting on Henriques appointment, Mairs stated: “He’s coming from Porshe and knows how to deal with high network individuals, who understands privacy, confidentiality, atomicity. He will be running the day-to-day operations as CEO.”

Loans limits

Ultra Financier Limited will be offering loans up to a maximum J$150 million and will be lending as low as J$1 million per person and will be holding on to high value assets. According to the Dolla CEO, “our rates will be similar to rates that we lend at Dolla, which is more in line with three per cent per month, thereabout”.

The company will be officially launched on November 1.

Loan applications will be done online.

When questioned about whether Dolla was still interest in acquiring competitor, Access Financial Services, with this new subsidiary coming, Mairs answered in the affirmative, stating that funding provisions have already been made for this intended acquisition.

In speaking with Our Today about Ultra Financier Limited, Henriques remarked: “We are here to create diversity in the lending space and allow people with high network the ability and flexibility of borrowing funds against luxury assets that they already own… we are very excited to hit the ground running, the Jamaican market being excited for another opportunity to borrow funds at different levels.”