Patrick Hylton and Dennis Cohen say they are ready to negotiate suitable packages in the aftermath of their separation from the two top posts at the NCB Financial Group.
The two men had surrendered over 95.1 million NCB shares that they held as at July 2021. Based on agreement, according to Hylton, they were being compensated for the surrendered shares.
“The appropriate stock exchange releases were made at the time and it was indicated that the company would be compensating us over time for this act of surrender and return of the shares,” the duo said in a joint release.
Breaking their silence for the first time since being sent on leave on Monday, Hylton and Cohen said they are professionals who have carefully built their careers and reputation over decades of service in the financial sector in general and at NCB in particular, a record they do not want to be sullied.
“We have established a stellar record of performance over those years which speaks for itself. We cannot sit quietly by and allow our integrity to be impugned by speculation and a misinterpretation of the facts and circumstances,” the joint release stated.
Hylton and Cohen said they have done nothing wrong regarding their compensation and that all they have done is accepted payments as approved by the board, consequent on their surrender and return to the company of over 95 million shares worth some $13.8 billion in July 2021.
“There’s nothing in our compensation that was not approved (that is to say) that was not negotiated and approved by the board. That is the simple point, and clearly the board would have seen the value in it at the time that it was negotiated and agreed,” Hylton told The Gleaner.
He said the 95.1 million shares held between both of them had to do with shares that were given to both men over time as a part of their compensation package. Hylton was not definitive about the length of time.
At the same time, Hylton noted that there are other shares that are part of a different arrangement.
The two men were asked to proceed on leave, according to a release from NCB, while “other arrangements will be made for the carrying out of their roles on an interim and then permanent basis. For the immediate future”, the notice to the JSE stated.
With the impending separation now in clear view, there is the question of a suitable severance package. Hylton was not prepared to say anything about those negotiations or what terms he would like to see.
Speaking on behalf of Cohen, Hylton said both men were reluctant to say anything before now as they do not want to negotiate in public.
“I don’t want to get into a discussion about how much is due [and so on]. To my mind, that is for the negotiating table,” Hylton said, adding that negotiating in public is neither appropriate nor productive.
Jamaica’s financial sector was rocked by the news on Monday that the two top executives at the NCB Financial Group were sent on leave following a board decision on Sunday. At the same time, Group Chairman Michael Lee-Chin returned to work on Monday from his leave of absence one month early, saying he had been able to attend to the matters that had occasioned the leave in less time than he had anticipated.
Both Hylton and Cohen have worked with NCB for nearly 20 years. Hylton refused to say, but The Gleaner understands that their contracts were set to run until 2028.
Summing up, Hylton said it has been a tremendous joy leading the NCB Group in what it has accomplished and the record performance shown over time. He also singled out the relationship with majority owner, Lee-Chin. Noting that coming out of Jamaica’s financial sector meltdown, there were not many takers for assets such as NCB, Hylton said after negotiating for more than a year, he met alone with Lee-Chin and made a proposal that may have sealed the deal.
“’Michael, I am not here to sell you a bank. I am here to sell you a vision of a bank. I am not here to sell you this bank for what it is today. I am here to sell you this bank for what it can be in the future’,” Hylton recalled telling the billionaire Canadian-Jamaican businessman.
Hylton said his greatest wish in the aftermath of all that has happened is that all parties treat each other with dignity and with respect, being mindful of the potential for reputational damage and the effect it may have on family members, including young children.
