BoS total assets reach Dhs21.3 billion

Bank of Sharjah (BoS) on Saturday announced its financial results for the six months ending June 30, 2011, demonstrating the bank’s underlying strength and prudent business model. The bank’s total assets as of June 30, 2011, reached Dhs21.3 billion compared to Dhs18.7 billion at the end of the same period in 2010, an increase of 13 per cent. As of June 30, 2011, the bank’s total deposits stood at Dhs15.4 billion compared to Dhs13.4 billion as of the same period in 2010, an increase of 15 per cent. As of June 30, 2011, the bank’s loans and advances stood at Dhs12.6 billion compared to Dhs11.9 billion in the same period of 2010, an increase of 6 per cent. The increase in deposits over loans and advances significantly enhanced the bank’s loans-to-deposits ratio, which further reduced during the period to reach 0.82 in June 2011 from 0.89 in June 2010. Compared to the corresponding period of 2010, net liquidity surged by 73 per cent in the first half of 2011. As of June 30, 2011, the bank’s net liquidity stood at Dhs5 billion versus Dhs2.9 billion in the corresponding period of 2010. This improvement in liquidity, which was driven by the 15 per cent increase in deposits, led to the 12 per cent drop in net interest income, due to the depressed interbank interest rates. Net profit for the first half of 2011 reached Dhs152 million compared to Dhs276 million in the corresponding period of 2010. The decrease in the current period was mainly caused by an increase in the collective impairment provisions. In view of the slower than expected recovery in the UAE economy, and because of the new risk classification measures introduced by the UAE Central Bank, Bank of Sharjah constituted a further Dhs70 million of collective impairment provisions during the second quarter of 2011. As of June 30, 2011, the bank’s collective impairment provisions reached Dhs432 million, of which Dhs90 million were constituted during the first half of 2011 versus nil in the first half of 2010, which caused the 45 per cent decline in the current year net income. Total comprehensive income reached Dhs162 million compared with AED 231 million for the corresponding 2010 period, bringing the decline in the current period earnings to 30 per cent instead of 45 per cent.  This was due to better performance of the investment portfolio during the second quarter of 2011 where the results were reflected in comprehensive income as a result of the early adoption of the IFRS 9 at the end of 2010. In the second quarter of 2011, net interest income registered a 5 per cent increase over the first quarter of 2011 despite the 5 per cent increase in customer deposits during the second quarter, due to the reduction of interest rates on these deposits during this period. Also non-interest income more than doubled during the second quarter of 2011 due to higher dividends received during this period. This led to the 37 per cent increase in operating income before impairment charges. Capital Intelligence, the international credit rating agency, has recently reaffirmed Bank of Sharjah’s Long-term Issuer Default Rating at ‘A’ -with a stable outlook. The firm attributed the Bank’s individual rating to its good management, strong capital adequacy, sound asset quality, and good profitability. Varouj Nerguizian, Executive Director and General Manager at Bank of Sharjah, said: “The political unrest which erupted in the Mena region at the beginning of the year continued to negatively impact the regional financial markets and economies. This, coupled with the sovereign debt crisis, has revived concerns over global recovery which in turn resulted in a slower than expected recovery of the UAE economy. This could prove challenging to the banking industry in 2011 considering the subdued economic environment”. “Moreover, the adoption of new accounting standards has brought us into uncharted territory regarding the recognition of actual profit and thereafter its distribution”, he added. “While profitability is lagging behind due to general provisions, effective performance should be compared to the average of 2010, as the year-end figures are more reflective of the reality than the quarterly figures. In an uncertain environment prudential provisioning remains the key to meet the unexpected,” added Nerguizian. From/ Gulf Today