UBL continues strong momentum in 2021
UBL continued its strong momentum in 2021 as the bank earned Profit Before Tax (PBT) of Rs39.3 billion for the period ended September 30, 2021, a strong growth of 49% year on year, with earnings per share (EPS) of Rs18.6 (9M’20: Rs13.1). The bank declared a dividend of Rs4.0 per share for Q3’21, which is in addition to the Rs8.0 per share declared earlier, taking the overall payout to Rs12.0 per share year to date.
UBL remains one of the key financial institutions in the country serving over 10 million customers, with a network of 1,344 branches within Pakistan, 1,436 ATMS, over 35,000 Omni agents, well supported by the bank’s award winning digital banking services. The Branch Banking Group delivered a record performance in 2021, with strong growth in average domestic deposits of over 21% as the bank continues to expand its customer base across key geographies. Domestic deposits averaged Rs1.5 trillion in 9M’21, with the domestic CASA to total deposits ratio at 85.5% for 9M’21. This aggressive deposit mobilization enabled the UBL to expand its average market share to 8.4% in 9M’21 (9M’20: 8.1%).
UBL sees Islamic banking as an emergent and growing opportunity and is aggressively focusing on expanding within this key space The Islamic branch network consists of 114 branches as well as 201 Islamic Banking Windows. Islamic banking deposits grew to
Rs127 billion at Sep’21, an increase of 14% since Dec’20. Islamic asset acquisition remains a key priority for UBL. The loan book for this segment averaged Rs34 billion in 9M’21, growing by over 71% year on year.
The economic environment within the GCC has started to pick up momentum as the pandemic gradually recedes and is also supported by a sharp rise in oil prices. Within International, UBL is looking to build a sustainable business model driven mainly by a strong base of low cost deposits. On the asset side, lending remains selective, confined to existing quality relationships, with rigorous oversight to contain any new NPL formation. After going through a challenging period of de-risking and optimizing the business model, the bank’s International business has entered a period of stability, recording a PBT of USD 30.1 million in 9M’21.
We continue to be well recognized as the bank was declared the ‘Best Digital Bank’ in Pakistan for the second consecutive year by Asiamoney. The award recognizes UBL’S leading role as one of the most progressive and innovative banks in the country. UBL was also declared the 'Best Digital Bank' at the 2020 Pakistan Banking Awards.
We have also recently introduced the UBL Digital Islamic Account and launched wealth management services on the mobile app. The bank is well on target to cross 2 million digital customers this year, with the number of digital transactions increasing by over 90% year on year.