Banking sector reports spike in net prof
EVEN though the momentum of loan-loss provisioning was upwards, the country’s 11 commercial banks reported an overall 16.23-per -cent rise in net profit in the third quarter to Bt54 billion, from Bt46.55 billion in the same three months of 2015.
The increase was because there was no need for special provisions as there was a year earlier.
In the third quarter of last year, three lenders – Krungthai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank and Tisco Bank – had to set aside special provisioning of nearly Bt20 billion for Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI).
Last quarter, KTB recorded that net profit grew by 61.42 per cent to Bt8.62 billion thanks to the lower provisioning expenses.
Its provisions in the quarter were Bt7.63 billion, down from Bt10.45 billion in the third quarter of last year.
However, KTB saw a rise in non-performing loans among some corporate clients, small and medium-sized enterprises and the retail sector.
The NPL rate as of September 30 had climbed to 4.24 per cent from 3.20 per cent as of the end of last year.
SCB recorded net profit of Bt11.53 billion last quarter, up by 27.9 per cent year on year.
Its provisioning expenses were Bt7 billion, down from Bt16 billion in the third quarter of 2015.
The increase in net profit was a result of higher net interest income along with higher net fee and service income.
Tisco Financial Group, the holding company of Tisco Bank, set aside provisions in the third quarter this year of Bt1.1 billion, against Bt2.16 billion a year earlier, and its net profit rose to Bt1.25 billion from Bt809 million in the same quarter of 2015.
Overall, however, the banking sector’s provisioning expenses in the third quarter were on an upward trend as they strove to maintain their coverage ratios.
Nevertheless, eight of the 11 listed banks reported growth in net profit in the period.
Kiatnakin Bank outperformed its peers in terms of the percentage of net-profit growth, driven by its capital-market business and interest income on investment in loans.
It reported growth of 84.18 per cent year on year to net profit of Bt1.7 billion.
The bank set aside provisions of Bt1.01 billion, up from Bt941 million a year earlier. NPLs dropped to 5.9 per cent from 6.1 per cent in the previous quarter.
TMB lagged behind its peers, recording a 34.52-per-cent drop in net profit to Bt1.84 billion because of a large increase in provisioning expense to Bt2.5 billion, compared with Bt820 million in the same quarter last year.
Bangkok Bank also reported a year-on-year decline in net profit, by 10.94 per cent to Bt8.06 billion.
Its provisioning expense was Bt4.9 billion, slightly higher than Bt4.87 billion in the same period last year.
Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri) reported net profit for the third quarter of Bt5.83 billion, up from Bt4.85 billion a year earlier.
It enjoyed loan growth of 7.7 per cent, while the average figure for its peers was less than 5 per cent.
Krungsri has raised its loan-growth target upward 5-6 per cent to 8-9 per cent, including consolidated loans from the acquisition of Hattha Kaksekar Limited (HKL), a microfinance institution in Cambodia.
