Caution the key word for banks amid economic slowdown

Increased loan-loss provisions affected the profitability of TMB Bank in the quarter, as it reported net-profit growth of 2.2 per cent year on year to Bt1.63 billion.
TMB Bank doubled its loan-loss provisions in the period to Bt2.38 billion from 1.16 billion in the same quarter last year.
The bank’s non-performing loans in the first quarter rose by Bt1.09 billion from the end of last year to Bt19.19 billion. The NPL ratio, therefore, increased to 3.01 per cent from 2.85 per cent.
Boontuck Wungcharoen, chief executive officer of TMB, said yesterday that lending in the first quarter grew by 1.5 per cent, primarily from the expansion of loans to medium-sized businesses. Outstanding loans as of the end of March stood at Bt538.97 billion.
TMB’s stock price yesterday closed at Bt2.88, down by Bt0.20 from Thursday.

Tisco posts gains
Tisco Financial Group reported net profit for the first quarter of Bt1.19 billion, up by 27.6 per cent from Bt943.69 million a year earlier.
A decrease in interest expenses, an increase in non-interest income and a decline in provisioning expenses supported the increase in net profit.
Although NPLs at Tisco and its subsidiaries decreased by Bt7.78 billion to Bt6.74 billion, lending dropped by 3.2 per cent, so its gross NPL ratio in the first quarter increased to 2.65 per cent from 2.57 per cent at the end of last year.
The Tisco group set up excess loan loss reserves of Bt170 million in the first quarter as a prudent policy to mitigate potential risk.