BBL's earning up 7.8%
Bangkok Bank, Thailand's largest bank by assets, reported the consolidated net profit of Bt9 billion for the first quarter of 2013, an increase of Bt653 million or 7.8 percent from the first quarter of 2012.
Net interest income rose by Bt654 million to Bt13.9 billion, non-interest income by Bt1.2 billion, and operating expenses by Bt1.2 billion.
“We expect the overall Thai economy to grow satisfactorily in 2013, driven by continued private sector investment – both within Thailand and offshore – in order to increase business capacity and to lift productivity to provide more value-added products. Businesses are also investing to increase their competitiveness and prepare for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)," said Bangkok Bank President Chartsiri Sophonpanich. “The government’s infrastructure projects will also give the private sector more confidence to expand.”
At the end of March 2013, the bank’s total lending was Bt1.59 trillion. It was unchanged from end-2012 but Bt82.1 billion or 5.4 percent higher from the same period last year.
Non-performing loans were Bt43.4 billion or equivalent to 2.3 percent of total lending, the same level as the end of last year. The bank set aside Bt1.7 billion as additional provisions in the first quarter, which increased the loan loss reserve coverage of NPLs of 203.3 per cent.
Despite intense competition for deposits, BB's loan-to-deposit ratio dropped from 87.4 per cent at end-2012 to 86.9 per cent in the quarter. As of March, outstanding deposits stood at Bt1.833 trillion.
