Pan Asia Bank posts record pre-tax profit of Rs.1.8 bln

Pan Asia Bank has closed its 2016 year recording a profit before tax of Rs 1.8 billion, up by 17 per cent over the previous year.

In a media release the bank said its posttax profit was Rs.1.25 billion, surpassing its previous earnings record.

“This commendable performance is a result of the combination of factors from the timely re-pricing of assets and liabilities, re-calibration of assets in to more remunerative areas, better recoveries and asset quality, the relatively strong growth in loans and receivables and better management of costs in all areas of the banking business during the year,” the bank said.

Commenting on the performance, the bank’s Acting CEO, Lalith Jayakody attributed the performance to the proactive measures taken to successfully acclimatize the bank to the rising interest rate scenario from the beginning of 2016.

“Although the economic conditions were less supportive towards the banking and the financial services sector due to rising interest rates and the tightened credit conditions, we could still achieve these record numbers because we remained nimble to adjust ourselves fast to the new economic order. Our continuous efforts on upgrading the skills of our staff, improving the efficiency of our systems and processes by keeping a closer tab on our costs and investing in growth areas did yield us these record earnings,” he said.

The Return on Equity (RoE) which measures the return generated towards the shareholders, a widely used performance matrix in the banking industry stood at 19.97 per cent, above the industry average of 17.30 per cent. Pan Asia Bank remains among the few banks which have a RoE with a 20 per cent level, the release added.

Total operating expenses rose by 18.24 per cent predominantly due to increase in staff related expenses and other overhead expenses due to impact of tax hikes and inflationary pressures.