Banif Bank has registered a profit before tax of €1.4m for the year ended December 31, a five-fold increase on the previous year.
The bank continued to register growth in its lending and deposit portfolio and main income streams while total assets increased by €22.8m, reaching €619m.
Gross loans and advances to customers increased by €41m, reaching €384m. Deposits increased by €25.2m, reaching €579.2m. The bank managed to improve significantly its deposit into loan transformation ratio, with loans standing at 65.3 per cent of customer deposits.
The bank generated a total operating income of €13.9m, a 15 per cent increase year on year. Net interest income amounted to €8.7m (2013: €8.1m). The increase is mainly the result of the improvement of the bank’s financial margin. Net fee and commission income amounted to €2.1m (2013: €1.7m).
All this translated into a higher ratio of net fee income and commissions as a percentage of net interest income, standing at 24.2 per cent (2013: 20.8 per cent).
This was mainly attributable to the bank increasing new revenue through retail banking services. Total operating expenses excluding impairment increased only slightly by 1.6 per cent, from €10.5m in 2013 to €10.7m, a positive result taking into consideration the Bank opened two new Branches during 2014, Banif said. Trading income amounted to €3.1m (2013: €2.1m).
Banif Chief Executive Officer Joaquim F. Silva Pinto said the bank was confident that 2015 would render just the same success and would keep up the practices and processes which proved so effective in its growth spurt.
“There will be continued investment in the team and infrastructure, maximisation of the potential of its resources to deliver the high level of service which differentiates the bank on the market. Our focus will be on the bank’s stakeholders – our customers, our staff, the shareholders and the regulators – to ensure that the demands of each are fully satisfied…
“It is expected that 2015 will see the entry of a new shareholder into the bank. This will enable it to pursue new areas of business and growth,” he said.