HNB says nearing Rs. 1 Trillion mark, post-tax profit over Rs.10 bln
View(s):Hatton National Bank says it recorded “another year of outstanding performance with Group Profit-After-Tax (PAT) increasing by 29 per cent to Rs 10.1 billion while the bank’s PAT recorded a growth of 28 per cent exceeding Rs. 9 billion”.
Discussing the performance, HNB Chairperson, Dr Ranee Jayamaha stated that “the Bank has once again demonstrated resilience and posted an all-round exceptional performance notwithstanding the challenging global environment, adverse impacts on the pawning portfolio and a substantial reduction in interest margins. These were amply compensated by the proactive strategies adopted by the Bank in driving fee income, aggressive recovery action, improved productivity and cost management. In pursuance of our goal of reaching a Rs 1 Trillion balance sheet, the Group successfully crossed Rs. 600 billion in assets during the year”. The bank recorded a strong growth of over 28 per cent in Current Accounts and Savings Accounts (CASA) which supported in funding the impressive growth of over 20 per cent in its loan book (excluding pawning). The CASA ratio exceeded 45 per cent in December 2014 compared to 38 per cent in 2013 and helped towards cushioning the impact from the drop in interest margins during the year due to the decline in Average Prime Lending Rate (AWPLR) by approximately 600 bps and the significant drop in the pawning portfolio to 5 per cent of the loan book from 13 per cent as at end of 2013,” a media release from the bank said.
Provisioning costs for the year reduced considerably by Rs. 1.8 billion in line with the reduction in non-performing loans. Aggressive recovery efforts throughout the year have consistently driven down the NPA ratio of the bank and during the year, the bank was successful in recovering a couple of large Maldivian loans which were non-performing over the last few years.
Jonathan Alles, Managing Director / CEO of HNB said that “the process improvement initiatives launched during 2013 have begun to gather momentum and the bank will reap the full benefit of these initiatives in the years ahead. The technological thrust has strengthened the bank’s competitive advantage with our New World Banking offering which complement our network of customer service centres”