BBL Grows 7% of Profit in 2018 to ฿35.3bln. from Operating Income and Lower NPL Ratio

Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited (BBL) has announced its 2018 consolidated financial statement through the Stock Exchange of Thailand as follows:

BBL reported a net profit of ฿35,330 million, an increase of 7.03% from 2017. Operating income amounted to ฿121,401 million, an increase of 7.9%, driven by an increase of 7.1% in net interest income with a net interest margin of 2.40%, and an increase of 9.1% in non-interest income contributed by increases in gains on tradings and foreign exchange transactions and gains on investments.

Despite the exemption of transaction fees via digital channels, net fees, and service income were close to the level of the previous year due to good growth in fee income from bancassurance and mutual funds. The ratio of expenses to operating income was 45.4%.

At the end of December 2018, BBL’s loans amounted to ฿2,083,160 million, an increase of 4.0% from the end of 2017, driven by loans to large corporates, consumers, and through BBL’s international network.

The ratio of non-performing loan (NPL) to total loans was lower to 3.4%, as BBL managed credit risk and stayed close to its customers by providing them with advice and assistance. BBL still maintains the allowance for doubtful accounts at an appropriate level. Meanwhile, the ratio of loan loss reserves to NPL was 190.9%.