Banif Bank’s profits after tax are down to €124,000. Photo: Darrin Zammit LupiBanif Bank (Malta) plc posted a profit after tax of €124,000 for 2013, down from €173,000 the previous year.
The bank remarked in its 2013 annual report that, in the first part of the year, Malta registered the lowest rate of growth in bank lending since 2008 due to the business slowdown in the run up to the general election.
The annual report was approved by the board of directors on May 29. The financial statements were originally scheduled to be published by the end of April but the bank was granted an extension by the Malta Financial Services Authority.
Last month, Times of Malta reported that Banif Financial Group of Portugal was in the process of selling its majority stake in Banif Malta plc, in line with conditions dictated by an EU bailout agreement sealed last year with the Iberian country.
Banif Malta CEO Joaquim Silva Pinto said the sale of shares would have no impact on the bank’s operations. Though the group had committed itself to divest its majority stake by 2017, Mr Silva Pinto insisted that the situation was fluid and so this could happen earlier or at a later stage, if a good offer was tabled.
In its 2013 report, Banif Malta referred to this process when commenting on events that had occurred after the reporting date.
It said that, as part of the recapitalisation strategy being executed by the Portuguese Group, the majority shareholder had communicated its intention to dispose of its stake. However, it pointed out that the change in shareholding was not expected to alter the bank’s presence and brand in the short to medium term.
In its outlook for this year, the bank highlights its plans to increase its retail branch network further, with the recent inauguration of two branches in Mosta and Paola testament to this.
The bank is also planning to issue an ordinary share capital in the region of €17.5 million in the second half of this year.