Lewis who began operating his firm in Montego Bay in 1995 is spending nearly $2 million to set up the Kingston branch which will initially employ five individuals.

Lewis who is executive chairman and principal shareholder stated that all the services that were offered in Montego Bay would be available in Kingston.

"We are trying to put everything that we think clients would need out there," he said.

EW Lewis Investments is a securities dealer and investment advisor that is licensed by the Financial Services Commission. The company according to Lewis has been "concentrating on money market instruments, particularly government securities", but now plans to expand into other areas.

"Now, we propose to be a full-time broker, meaning that we want to offer all the financial products out there offered by financial companies, such as bonds, unit trust, and equities, to our clients... putting them under one roof," he said. "We are also looking seriously at short-term bridge financing which is between 30 and 90 days. Not micro financing, but short term financing for small businesses that may have to make payments before collecting their receivable".

Lewis says he plans to offer more competitive rates that what banks currently charge for similar service.

"The rates at commercial banks on overdrafts might run 30 per cent, but they can access from us at cheaper rates.  If we are paying our clients 12 per cent on deposit we can charge them 15 or 18 per cent on short-term loan to pay down on overdraft so they can save interest. The bank will in turn give us a guarantee because they are already holding the security."