Lanville Henry/Contributor

NCB shareholders, I hope Michael Lee Chin wants to purchase a new toy, some other assets or something for that matter this year. 

Because it’s only then that shareholders might get a dividend… when it suits him. Many old, poor pensioners are suffering because he and his hand picked board have refused to pay a dividend for about three years.

He has been hiding under the Richard Byles suggestion (not a dictate) for listed companies to build a reserve during the COVID period… just in case.

In the first place, NCB didn’t need any new reserve. Even though Mr Byles made that suggestion, the company he had just relinquished leadership of (Sagicor) never stopped paying dividends.

 In fact, NCB could be the only listed financial institution in the country that has not paid a dividend since COVID. Maybe they paid a 50 cents once and maybe for the reason I mentioned in my opening sentence.

I’m the victim of this no-dividend policy and I know many more pensioners whose pension funds claim they cannot give an increase because their funds are heavily invested in NCB’s shares and absolutely no dividend is being paid.

Many of us have to be satisfied with an increase that is way below inflation, taking us closer and closer to the poverty line. 

In the meantime, the fund managers (in my case NCB) continue to rake in high management fees to boost NCBFG’s profit while the pensioners remain poor.