Pan Asia Bank records post-tax profit of Rs.847 mln

Pan Asia Bank has reported a Profit after Tax of Rs. 847 million for 2012, exceeding its previous year's performance.

In a media statement, the bank said that while generating a robust financial performance, it also managed to keep its aggressive branch expansion momentum intact by opening nine more branches in 2012.

Pan Asia Bank, reaping the benefits of investing in expanding its retail banking footprint, said it grew its customer deposits to Rs.48 billion, up 32 per cent from 2011.

"This achievement is especially noteworthy as generally a significant increase customer deposits is considered to be an indicator of the higher level of confidence the customers place in a bank. The bank also increased its customer loans portfolio by 24 per cent to reach Rs.45 billion during the same period which was a significant achievement in light of the credit ceiling that was prevalent during 2012," it said adding however that the upward pressure on interest rates that lasted throughout the major part of the year resulted in the net interest margin coming down to 4.66 per cent.

Another highlight for the bank in 2012 was the upgrading of the bank's outlook from Stable to Positive by Fitch Rating Lanka, in recognition of the bank's robust performance and the sound foundation on which it is operating, the statement said.