Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow said Lonpac Insurance Bhd remained resilient despite multiple external shocks and adjustments to various challenges faced by its economy in 2016.
KUALA LUMPUR: Public Bank Bhd
reported slightly higher earnings in the first quarter ended March 31, 2017 while total gross loans increased at an anualised rate of 3.6%, placing itself for a positive start for the year.
It reported on Thursday earnings grew by 1.5% to RM1.25bil from RM1.23bil a year ago while pre-tax profit was RM1.63bil. Its revenue was RM5.03bil, up 0.4% from RM5bil.
“Total gross loans of the Public Bank group increased at an annualised rate of 3.6%, with domestic loans growing faster at an annualised rate of 4.7%.
“The group’s growing loans portfolio focusing on the financing of residential properties and commercial lending to small and medium enterprises, continued to capture major market share in the domestic lending market,” said the banking group.
Public Bank said the group’s growing loans portfolio focused on the financing of residential properties and commercial lending to small and medium enterprises. Hence, this saw it continuing to capture major market share in the domestic lending market.
In the deposit-taking business, it achieved an annualised 8.1% growth in total customer deposits for the first quarter of 2017, underpinning a stable base for the froup’s funding position. On the domestic front, the group’s total deposits grew at an annualised rate of 7.9%.
Its founder and chairman Tan Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow said the group has placed itself for a positive start in 2017, as the group has continued to achieve stable profitability even in times of persistent headwinds facing the banking environment.
“The group’s profitability continued to be driven by its core retail banking business underpinned by healthy growth in loans and deposits during the quarter, coupled with its sustained strong asset quality.”
“The Public Bank group continued to sustain a satisfactory set of financial performance indicators as reflected in its net return on equity of 14.9%, gross impaired loans ratio of 0.5% and an efficient cost-to-income ratio of 34.3%,” he said.
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