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30 Group President and CEO’s Discussion and Analysis continued
Other income increased by $72 million or 3.5 percent over the year.
• In Trinidad and Tobago, the improvement of $60 million is primarily due to increased fees and commissions on loans of $17
million resulting from the growth in the loan portfolio, combined with increased shared services income of $57 million, which
is eliminated on consolidation. These increases were offset by declines in fees and commissions from credit cards of $20 million
due to reduced credit card transaction volumes in the current year, following the decrease in the US$ credit card limits.
• In Barbados, the reduction of $178 million was mainly due to a gain from the sale of a subsidiary which took place in 2023, and
did not recur in 2024. This gain was however eliminated on consolidation at the Group level.
• In Guyana, the increase of $41 million was mainly due to higher exchange earnings resulting from increased foreign exchange
volumes from the energy sector as well as increased fee and commission income.
• The increase of $70 million in the Eastern Caribbean was mainly due to increased fee and commission income and exchange
income resulting from increased economic activity.
• In Suriname, the $30 million decrease was primarily attributed to reduced foreign exchange gains on the Bank’s US dollar
denominated assets following the appreciation of the Surinamese dollar against the US dollar.
Total operating expenses
All figures are stated in TT$ millions
2024 2023 Change % Change
Staff costs 1,871 1,706 (165) -9.7
General administrative expenses 1,287 1,232 (55) -4.5
Property-related expenses 208 186 (22) -11.8
Depreciation 429 384 (45) -11.7
Advertising and public relations 165 142 (23) -16.2
Other 74 201 127 63.2
Total operating expenses 4,034 3,851 (183) -4.8
Trinidad and Tobago 1,990 1,861 (129) -6.9
Barbados 376 311 (65) -20.9
Guyana 261 237 (24) -10.1
Cayman Islands 527 523 (4) -0.8
Eastern Caribbean 668 605 (63) -10.4
Suriname 88 102 14 13.7
Ghana 235 233 (2) -0.9
British Virgin Islands 82 95 13 13.7
Less eliminations and other adjustments (193) (116) 77 66.4
Total 4,034 3,851 (183) -4.8
The Group incurred total operating expenses of $4.0 billion for the year ended September 30, 2024. This reflects an increase of $183
million or 4.8 percent above the prior year. This increase is due to the net effect of several areas as follows:
• Staff costs increased by $165 million, mainly due to increased salaries in Cayman Islands, Suriname, Grenada and Trinidad and
Tobago.
• General administrative expenses increased by $55 million or 4.5 percent mainly due to the net effect of the following across the
Group:
