Habib Bank Limited (HBL) has incurred great sums of losses in the third quarter of 2017. HBL losses surged up to Rs. 14.12 billion. The main cause of HBL losses was a penalty of $225 million and its settlement payment made to the New York State Department of Financial Services.
However, despite suffering losses HBL managed to have profits in the three quarters of 2017. The profit was Rs 1.55 billion. It was Rs. 25.7 billion in the same period of 2016.
HBL sustained profit of Rs 25.3 billion after tax for the first nine months of 2017, if the settlement payment was to be ignored. The pre-tax profit for the first three quarters of 2017 is Rs. 42.5 billion.
Fees and commissions increased to Rs. 15.5 billion, a 13% increase. The growth is contributed to home remittances, card related and consumer financing fees and asset management. Treasury associated income also increased by 43%.
The dividend has not been declared for the third quarter. The dividend for the first two quarters was Rs. 7.00 per share (70%).
The deposits continue to grow in HBL. It maintains the status of highest deposits in the banking industry of Pakistan. The deposits have touched Rs. 2.03 trillion and HBL’s market share has reached 14.4%. The progression in deposits has come completely through upsurges in CASA, with the local CASA ratio augmented to 87.4%.
Domestic current accounts have grown to Rs. 600 billion approximately. The current account ratio is 35% at the end of third quarter. HBL has also enhanced its lending activities.
HBL wants to keep up to the technological advances and keep offering its customers quality services. The management of HBL has taken serious note of the control and compliance issues. They want to promote the culture of zero tolerance against compliance.
HBL wants to keep maintaining its status of market leader and be ready for any unforeseeable challenges.
