The Bank of Punjab (BoP) has shown improvement in all facets of operations despite challenging economic conditions and a tough operating environment, says a bank statement received by WealthPK.

The Board of Directors (BoD) of the bank met in Islamabad to consider and approve the unaudited financial statements for the first nine months of the year ending on September 30.

The board reviewed the bank’s financial performance and expressed satisfaction over the results achieved during the first nine months of year 2022.

The total assets as of September 30, 2022 improved to Rs1,309.5 billion against Rs 1,197.0 billion as of December 31, 2021. The deposits also improved to Rs1,040.5 billion against Rs1,003.0 billion as of December 31, 2021.

The investments and gross advances were recorded at Rs576.2 billion and Rs598.4 billion, respectively. The equity improved to Rs64.4 billion and Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stood at 14.14% against regulatory requirement of 11.50%. However, the leverage ratio stood at 3.89% as against the requirement of 3.00%.

During the nine months of the year, the bank posted before tax profit of Rs12.45 billion as against Rs12.36 billion earned during the first nine months of 2021. The bank’s Net Interest Margin (NIM) improved to Rs22.88 billion as against Rs21.91 billion during the first nine months of 2021.

Similarly, the non-markup/ interest income (excluding gains on securities) increased to Rs7.19 billion as against Rs4.42 billion during the first nine months of 2021, showing a growth of 63%.

The profit after tax remained at Rs7.60 billion after absorbing increase in effective taxability by 10% for tax year 2023 as against Rs8.72 billion during the first nine months of 2021.

Similarly, the earnings per share (EPS) remained at Rs2.55 as against Rs2.93 for the first nine months of 2021. The bank has been assigned long-term entity rating of “AA+” by M/s PACRA with short-term rating at the highest rank of “A1+”.

The bank currently has a network of 722 online branches (including 132 Taqwa Islamic Banking Branches and 16 sub-branches). Further, the bank has a network of 682 ATMs providing 24/7 banking services to the customers.

Besides, the bank is also offering credit card, branchless banking, mobile banking, internet banking and cash management services to its clients.

Credit : Independent News Pakistan-WealthPk