Executive chairman of Access Financial Services Limited (AFS), Marcus James has ruled out a possible takeover from Dolla Financial at this time.

Speaking with journalists at AFS’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday, James said the company has not received a formal offer for consideration from Dolla Financial despite the latter’s expression of interest.

He further stated that Access would not be able to ”entertain an offer” at this time because “only licensed financial institutions can take over micro finance entities”.

READ: Stalled Access

Dolla Financial, a micro-lender which recently listed on the Junior Market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange, sent a letter to its competitor Access Financial on August 11, 2022, expressing an interest in exploring a takeover of full control of the entity.

The letter had asked Access Financial to “confirm within five calendar days from the date” of the letter “that the majority of the board is not opposed to our expression of interest and that you will engage in discussions in relation to formulating a mutually acceptable non-disclosure agreement.”

That deadline of five calendar days expired on Tuesday, August 16, 2022.