Fayval Williams

In her contribution to a bill aim at compulsorily acquire the 49 per cent shares held by PDV Caribe, a subsidiary of the Venezuelan state-owned firm Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), Williams told Parliament on 19 February 2019 that an international firm placed the value of Petrojam at US$34 million. Williams said that a valuation conducted in 2006 by the same firm placed the value at US$126 million.[24]

Months after taking up post at the Finance Ministry, Fayval Williams informed that the government would be exploring alternatives 11.4 Billion annual National Housing Trust withdrawals for budget financing, effectively discontinuing the policy of the previous administration.[28]

In her first Sectoral presentation in Parliament June 24, 2016, Williams disclosed that he Pensions (Public Service) Act to establish a contributory pension scheme in the public sector, is to come before Parliament. "Getting the public employee pension administration system completed is a key goal for this administration," Williams announced.[29]

In July 2016, Fayval Williams pointed to the need for Jamaica to implement a national identification system.[30]

As State Minister, Williams invited the Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ) to formulate an implementation team to work with the government of Jamaica to strategise the growth and development of its members. Her invitation was triggered by the SBAJ announcing its three main goals for 2016 for which it seeks government intervention. She noted that government intervention is always necessary for the private sector of any economy. She signaled that the government would be willing to assist, but only if the implementation team was established.[31]

Williams has argued that improving efficiencies through the modernisation and transformation of the public sector is critical in achieving higher levels of economic growth.[32]

Fayval Williams in an interview publish in The Gleaner on September 21, 2018 said there is potential for the August Town community but expressed frustration that crime is retarding the progress of strides made in the community over the years. "I mean, those are programmes that we should be putting our energies into, but you take one step forward and 10 steps back, and it gets frustrating," she said.[33]

Williams has repeatedly make calls for a Zone of Special Operation (ZOSO) to be declared in August Town. She has expressed concern about the level of violence in the community, revealing that residents there are living in fear due to violence.[34]

Fayval Williams served as executive director of Kingston Properties, a Real Estate Investment Trust company from 2008 until 2015 when she resigned to take up duties in the Jamaica Labour Party as its caretaker for the constituency of St Andrew Eastern. Fayval, her husband Leo Williams and Stuart White conceptualized the real estate investment company in 2007 to invest in the Carlton Savannah Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad, naming the company Carlton Savannah REIT (Jamaica) Limited.[36][37][38][39][40]

During the 7 years Mrs Williams held the position as Executive Director, shareholders equity in Kingston Properties grew from J$406.6 million to J$793.6 million at end of June 2015.

In 2016, Fayval Williams got a 32 Million payout from Kingston Properties as settlement for a long-term incentive plan (LTIP), which entitled the executive director to an allocation of shares based on the achievement of certain profit performance targets. The LTIP plan was not implemented and that it was mutually agreed between Williams and the board that the amount of $32.85 million be paid in lieu and in full settlement of the non-implementation of the LTIP.[41]

Williams worked with Jamaica Money Market Brokers Limited (JMMB Ltd). She was involved in decision-making at the senior management level at JMMB. She also led JMMB’s endeavour to develop world-class investment research capabilities.[42]

Her other duties at the money market brokers company include interfacing with the Financial Services Commission and the Jamaica Security Dealers Association (JSDA) on issues such as the impact of international accounting standards (particularly IAS39), development of a local Jamaican fixed income yield curve, determining capital adequacy and margin requirement for the local Repo Market. At JMMB, Williams also provided oversight for non-standard lending and served as the Head of the Valuation and Pricing team for JMMB’s public offering in December, 2002. Additionally, Williams served as chief investment officer of JMMB Limited from 2005 to 2007 with investment responsibilities spanning the trading department, investment research, and pensions.[43][44]

Fayval Williams on her return to Jamaica has consulted with the Financial Services Commission (FSC) in the area of risk management, research and policy.[45] Her working papers included: Regulatory framework for private equity funds in developed capital markets; FSC’s Competition Policy Statement; Criteria for Recognizing a Caribbean regional Credit Rating Agency; and The Concept of Accredited Investors in the Jamaican Financial Market. She also worked on the development of early warning ratios for the brokerage industry; performed analytical work on Jamaica’s bond price volatility and liquidity management strategies; developed FSC’s input into the Memorandum of Understanding of the International Organization of Securities Commission (“IOSCO”); researched comparative information on Educational Savings Plans; led efforts to complete the IOSCO-Self Assessment exercise for the FSC.

Fayval Williams worked in the area of equity analysis at Putnam Investments, a top-10-global mutual fund manager located in Boston, Massachusetts. Her investment recommendations span various companies in a variety of industries such as advertising, restaurant, global airlines, telecom, direct broadcasting satellite, environmental services, defense, power systems and technology. She published detailed financial forecasts and in-depth company and industry reports used by the various product groups at Putnam. Her stock recommendations outperformed the S&P500 during 1997-2001. She also had portfolio management responsibilities for a segment of a core portfolio product and led Putnam’s efforts to incubate a market neutral (hedge) fund.

At Wellington Management Company in Boston, Massachusetts, Fayval Williams performed analysis and issued various recommendations for an expansive range of fixed income securities covering a broad spectrum of commercial enterprises including Transportation, Paper & Forest Products, Cable, Chemicals, Aerospace & Defense, Autos, and Railroad. Her other fixed income responsibilities included the analysis of asset- backed securities (ABS) and commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS). Assets under her management grew significantly in these securities as a result of the confidence the portfolio managers had in her work.

At Northwestern Mutual Life, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Williams’s responsibilities included daily trading of a wide array of various fixed income securities. She also performed analysis of corporate bonds across the credit spectrum (AAA to CCC). In addition, she also had portfolio management responsibilities for approximately US$3 billion. She was a member of the team that provided macro-economic and market input for both the strategic and tactical portfolio decisions.