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Tuesday, February 18, 2020

BOB reports $2.2 mil. net profit in first half of fiscal year

Bank of The Bahamas (BOB). FILE

Continuing its trend of profitability and growth, the Bank of The Bahamas (BoB) recorded a net income of $2.2 million for the first six months of this fiscal year, according to its Managing Director Kenrick Brathwaite.

Due largely to a million dollar increase in net interest income and a $900,000 increase in non-interest income for Q2, BOB recorded a 1.9 million increase in total operating income for the quarter ending December 31, 2019, which is nearly 20 percent more than it did for the same period in 2018.

For the fiscal year to date, net interest income and non-interest income stood at $2 million and $800,000 respectively.

“The positive variance in net interest income year to date was due to an increase in interest revenue by $1.3 million primarily from consumer loans interest income as a result of the bank’s consumer loans campaign; and lower interest expense by $0.7 million due to certain interest rates and deposit base reduction. The bank’s net non-interest income also increased year to date, primarily due to the gain on the sale of the bank’s trust business and higher fees and commission income,” Brathwaite said in the bank’s financial performance report released yesterday.

On the other hand, the bank saw a nearly ten percent increase in operating expenses for the first two quarters of the fiscal year, landing at $1.3 million which Braithwaite explained is largely owing to an increase in employee expenses.

“Net credit loss expense for the quarter ended December 31, 2019 increased by $1.5 million or 143.89 percent compared to the quarter ended December 31, 2018; and $3.0 million or 140.51 percent increase for the six months period ended December 31, 2019 vs. December 31, 2018 due to the provision impact of the last hurricane and the IFRS 9 provision impact related to the overall portfolio growth,” he said.

Nonetheless, Braithwaite said the bank continues to maintain a strong financial position with total assets growing more than five percent since the start of the fiscal year.

Total assets amounted to $866 million with the composite of loans and advances, net of $363.2 million which represent a 5.85 percent ($47.9 million) and 5.54 percent ($19.1 million) increase respectively.

“The bank’s liquidity position also remained strong as its cash and cash equivalents stood at $212.5 million, which showed a $55 million or 34.93 percent increase since June 30, 2019. The bank’s key capital ratios continued to be in compliance with regulatory requirements, with CET1 ratio of 40 percent, well above the Central Bank’s minimum requirement of 9.6 percent. The bank’s total equity closed at $163.5 million, higher than the June 30, 2019 balance of $161.5 million, as net income of $2.2 million is reported for the period,” Braithwaite said.

“Returning BOB, your bank, to a level of profitability and implementing effective overall management were our initial steps to achieving long term sustainable growth. We have made considerable strides to achieving all of our strategic goals, however there is much more that is required to ensure that this trend of profitability and growth will be maintained for many years to come.”

The post BOB reports $2.2 mil. net profit in first half of fiscal year appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.



source https://thenassauguardian.com/2020/02/18/bob-reports-2-2-mil-net-profit-in-first-half-of-fiscal-year/

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