Union Bank says strong balance sheet growth in Q1 2017

The Union Bank reported this week that profit before tax and VAT grew sharply by 45 per cent to Rs. 167 million in Q1 2017 from the same quarter in 2016. Post tax profit for the period was Rs. 95 million.

In a media release, the bank said there was a strong 95 per cent growth on results from operating activities at Rs. 147 million against Rs. 75 million in the previous year.

“This was mainly attributable to the healthy increase in net Interest income of 73 per cent despite the challenging macro-economic environment,” it said.

A change in the asset mix of the bank brought about a decline in the net trading income as funds were shifted to interest earning assets from investments in units.

In order to support the strong growth in the bal- ance sheet, operating expenses of the bank increased to Rs. 771 million, up 15 per cent, in line with the bank’s strategic growth and expansion focus along with its investment in human capital development.

Total assets of the bank grew to Rs. 101 billion, an 8 per cent growth. Customer deposits grew by 10 per cent to Rs. 57 billion in the quarter.

The group comprising UBC, NationalAsset Management Ltd and UB Finance Company Ltd, recorded a healthy increase in its net interest income by 61 per cent to Rs. 922 million YoY.

This was mainly attributable to the healthy increase in net Interest income of 73 per cent despite the challenging macro-economic environment