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4 NEWS 29.4.2021 FOR the quarter ended 31 March 2021, APS Group has announced a pre-tax profit of €3.8 million (1Q2020: €2.0 million), and €3.9 million for the Bank (1Q2020: €5.2 million). is and other information is extract- ed from the Group and Bank unaudited financial statements presented at a re- cent meeting of the Board of Directors. As COVID-19 economic disruption started to be balanced by cautious op- timism with vaccination programmes gathering momentum, and Govern- ment continuing its direct intervention in favour of the sectors most affected by the pandemic, APS Bank remained committed to support its business and personal clients during this delicate period. More retail customers are successful- ly exiting the moratoria period, a trend started in 4Q2020 that has continued. The Group's loans portfolio grew by a net €48 million (+2.7%) to reach €1.85 billion with households and mortgage financing being the main contributors. e continued availability of mar- ket liquidity resulted in an increase of high-quality treasury assets by 23% to €522 million – a balanced mix of debt securities and bank balances. e Group's customer deposit base also grew by €96 million (+4.5%). Against this background of continued growth in the lending book, net in- terest income grew by 11.3% to €12.8 million. Other operating income rebound- ed as last year's net fair value losses of €1.5 million resulting from market volatility at the early stages of the pan- demic were not repeated this quarter. Fees and other operating income re- mained at last year's levels while op- erating expenses increased by €2.4 million to €10.3 million as a result of continuous investment in technology, staff, support, as well as increased reg- ulatory and pandemic-related costs, pushing the cost-to-income ratio to 68.6%. Impairments for expected credit loss- es of €1.0 million largely reflected the quarterly growth in the lending book at broadly unchanged expected de- fault rates and also taking into account changes to the credit risk and behav- iour of borrowers. During the quarter ended March 2021, there were no material changes to the IFRS9 staging composition. Group profit after tax for the quarter was €2.4 million (1Q2020: €0.2 mil- lion), an annualised return on average equity of 4.8% compared to 0.5% in the comparative period. At end-March, the Bank's equity stood at €191.4 million in line with the position at end-2020 with a CET1 ratio of 13.7% and a Capital Adequacy Ratio of 18.0%. CEO Marcel Cassar said that the first quarter fo 2021 was especially chal- lenging, as the pandemic effects con- tinue to bite. "We are confident that our business model will endure and overcome the current uncertainty, yet the extent of the rebound of key sectors such as tourism is going to be critical even for the short-to-medium term economic recovery," he said. "As we experience a gradual pickup in business sentiment we shall maintain a prudent watch on credit underwriting and asset quality, mindful that pan- demic-related developments will con- tinue to shape the landscape for quite some time to come." BANK of Valletta has announced that in view of the lower number of positive COVID-19 cases, its branches and cus- tomer outlets will be reverting to a qua- si-normal operating schedule. Branches e Bank will be increasing its cash- ier service hours and the number of branches offering such service. With effect from today, 22 branch- es will provide cashier services from Monday to Friday between 8.30am and 12.00pm (noon), while another 14 branches will offer teller service also on Saturdays. Marsaxlokk, Mqabba, Msida and Sliema Branches will be open for non- cash related services, whereas St Julian Branch will remain temporarily closed. e fast-track service will be reinstat- ed to cater for non-cash services, how- ever customers requiring services such as investments, home loans, personal loans, rescheduling of loan repayments and application for new services are en- couraged to set up an appointment to avoid unnecessary queues. All other current procedures with re- gards to cashiering services and safety measures including limiting the num- ber of customers inside the branch at any one time remain in force. e Bank reminded its customers to avoid queuing and use ATMs at any time of the day for their cash require- ments. Better still, customers should as much as possible opt to use their BOV Deb- it and Credit Cards, BOV Pay or BOV Mobile to Mobile to pay safely for goods and services. In addition, the BOV Internet and Mobile Banking may be used for pay- ments and other general banking re- quirements. Other Customer Outlets e Bank's Business Centres, Corpo- rate Centre, Investment Centres and Wealth Management will re-open their doors for one-to-one meetings with their customers with effect from Mon- day. Meetings can also be conducted elec- tronically, by phone or video-confer- encing for clients who wish to engage with the Bank from the comfort of their home or office. Customers requiring services from these Centres are kindly asked to con- tact their Relationship Managers and Financial Advisors. e Bank said it will continue to take all the necessary measures in the best interest and safety of its customers and staff and reminded customers visiting Bank's premises to follow the necessary precautions such as safe social distanc- ing, proper wearing of masks and sani- tising. APS Bank announces Q1 €3.9 millon profit BOV increases branch cashier hours and reopens customer outlets

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