ISLAMABAD: The Bank of Punjab (BoP) and Standard Chartered Bank of Pakistan too have reported hefty profits in 2021.
Bank of Punjab has informed its shareholders and regulators in the country that for first half of the fiscal year, ending Dec 2021, the BoP has earned 18.37 billion pre-tax profit while the net profit of the bank closed at 12.39 billion after payment of taxes. BoP reported an increase of 4.66 rupees in the price of its share in the stock market. BoP is a govt-run bank and its fiscal year starts from July every year and ends in June next year while private commercial banks count a calendar year for their working.
Meanwhile, for the calendar year 2021, Standard Chartered Bank has earned 24.76 billion rupees profit before tax and after tax, its profit ended at 13.72 billion rupees. The SCBP has reported 3.55 rupees increase in the value of its share at the Pakistan Stock Exchange.
Earlier, Despite the Covid pandemic driven economic slowdown in Pakistan, banking sector has demonstrated an outstanding financial performance with record profits mainly because of growth on online banking and other allied activities.
Just three banks _ MCB Bank, Bank Al-Habib, and Bank Al-Falah have reported more than 107 billion rupees gross profit in the calendar year 2021, showing greater profits than 2020.
MCB Bank today reported 53.30 billion rupees gross profit before payment tax in calendar year 2021 while its net profit ended around 31 billion rupees after payment of taxes and deduction of amount (provision) from the gross profit against non-performing loans. MCB has shared its record profit with its shareholders and regulators, including Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) today.
Meanwhile, Bank Al-Habib has also announced a stunning 30.27 billion rupees profit before tax for 2021 while its profit after tax ended at 18.70 billion rupees, again much higher than calendar year 2020.
Bank Al-Falah has also demonstrated a significant growth in its gross profit _ 23.90 billion rupees profit for 2021, which closed at 14.46 billion rupees after payment taxes to the government.
Till Feb 10, 2022, only MCB, Bank Al-Habib, and Bank Al-Falah have reported full year profits for the year 2021 while other banks are also expected to declare their annual profits in coming days.
Banks not only pay corporate tax on their annual profits, but also hand over to the government other taxes collected from their customers in the form of withholding tax, excise duty, and other taxes.
Overall, the year 2021 appears to be good for the banking sector in comparison with 2020 and it is evident from above-quoted three major banks’ annual profits…..
According to the financial results, the bank’s performance was driven by strong balance sheet growth, continued productivity improvements and risk discipline.
Despite investment in infrastructure and inflationary pressures, administrative costs continue to be well managed through operational efficiencies and disciplined spending, resulting in a decrease of three percent on a year-on-year basis. Moreover, strong recoveries and lower impairments as a result of a prudent risk approach led to a net charge of Rs. 0.5 billion compared to a net charge of Rs. 4.9 billion in the comparative period.
All businesses have positive momentum with strong growth in underlying drivers. This is evident from the pickup in net advances, which have grown by Rs. 56 billion (up 31 percent) since the start of the year. This was a result of a targeted strategy to build profitable, high-quality and sustainable portfolios. With a diversified product base, the bank is well-positioned to cater to the needs of its clients. On the liabilities side, the bank’s total deposits grew by Rs. 70 billion (up 13 percent), whereas current and saving accounts grew by Rs. 63 billion (up 12 percent) since the start of the year and comprised 92 percent of the deposit base.
The bank continued to make good progress against its strategic priorities. The global network differentiates the bank for its clients, bringing forth innovative solutions, product specialization, and structured offshore offerings. The bank strives to maximize the contribution towards the State Bank of Pakistan initiatives on promoting housing finance and is consistently ranked among the top three. As of now, over Rs. 3 billion have been dispersed under the Mera Pakistan Mera Ghar scheme.
Standard Chartered Bank (Pak) Limited is also among the top five contributors toward the Roshan Digital initiative and channeled remittances of over $320 million since inception and contributed $270 million to the investments in Naya Pakistan Certificate (NPC). The bank is the first in the industry to offer Raast payment services to clients through all three channels i.e. over the counter, mobile app and online banking.
Standard Chartered has continued to invest in technological advancements and digital infrastructure to provide further convenience and cyber security to clients’ digital transactions. With the launch of its digital bank, Standard Chartered is now able to reach more clients across the country and provide them with digital banking services that have now enabled clients to open current or saving accounts through biometric-enabled mobile app.
