Bangkok--21 Apr--Bangkok Bank
* Deposits grew by Baht 27.4 billion or 2.1%
* Fees and service income rose 9.0%
* Capital adequacy ratio remains strong at 15.1%
Bangkok Bank reported its performance results for the first three months of 2009, with profit before tax amounting to Baht 7.0 billion, an increase of 0.1 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2008. Net profit for the quarter amounted to Baht 4.8 billion, a decrease of 8.3 percent from the previous quarter.
Despite the challenging economic environment, the bank was able to achieve its goals in four main areas: liquidity, fees and service income, loans quality, and capital position. The bank has been able to maintain liquidity at a high level, with the deposit base, as of the end of March, expanding by 2.1 percent from the end of 2008. This has resulted in a satisfactory loan-to-deposit ratio of 84.4 percent. Fees and service income rose by 9.0 percent from the previous quarter and the bank was able to contain non-performing loans (NPLs) relatively well. The bank's capital adequacy ratio, with the inclusion of net profit and deduction of dividends, remained strong at 15.1 percent at the end of the quarter.
Highlights of the performance results for the first quarter of 2009 are as follows. Total deposits, as of March 31, 2009, amounted to Baht 1,338.8 billion, an increase of Baht 27.4 billion or 2.1 percent over the three month period. This was due to well-timed and continuous deposit-drive campaigns. Meanwhile, interest in financial products such as bills of exchange, bancassurance and corporate debentures rose as customers sought higher returns from alternative products.
Due to its capability in meeting customers' needs through an extensive branch network, variety of products and services, and capable sales force, Bangkok Bank has been able to reach target customers effectively, resulting in steady growth of fees and service income. The bank's fees and service income for the quarter rose by 9.0 percent, the main drivers of which included electronic transactions, bancassurance, and mutual funds.
In addition, non-interest expenses rose marginally by 0.1 percent from the previous quarter to Baht 9.5 billion, reflecting a reasonable level of cost containment. The cost-to-income ratio rose to 51.6 percent from 50.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Bangkok Bank President Chartsiri Sophonpanich said, "As the economic slowdown has begun to affect customers, Bangkok Bank has adopted a policy for our people to work more closely with customers. This close-relationship working approach allows us to gain
a deeper understanding of our customers' businesses and of the impact the economic downturn might have on them. This approach has provided the bank with greater opportunities to strengthen its relationship with the target customers, to support them as
appropriate, and to maintain loan quality to a certain extent".
As of March 31, 2009, NPLs had risen slightly to 4.8 percent of total loans from 4.6 percent as of December 31, 2008.
In the first quarter, the bank set aside provisioning expenses amounted of Baht 1.96 billion. The total loan loss reserves at the end of March 2009 amounted to Baht 60.9 billion and the loan loss reserve coverage of NPLs was 102.7 percent.
Shareholders' equity, as of March 31, 2009, was Baht 176.7 billion. With the inclusion of the net profit for the second half of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 and deduction of dividends to be paid in May 2009, the total capital adequacy ratio and Tier 1 capital ratio would be approximately 15.1 percent and 12.3 percent, respectively. This strong capital position will provide the bank with continued strength to operate through this period of economic volatility.
Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited (Registration No. 0107536000374 )
333 Silom Road Bangrak Bangkok 10500 Thailand Tel. (66) 2231 4333 Telex 82638 BKBANK TH www.bangkokbank.com