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MALTATODAY 31 October 2021

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maltatoday | SUNDAY • 31 OCTOBER 2021 18 COMMERCIAL APS Bank announces strong third quarter 2021 results APS Group announced a pre- tax profit of €16.7 million for the nine months ended 30 September, 2021 (same period 2020: €13.6 million) and €16.0 million for the Bank (2020: €14.5 million). This and other information was released from the Group and Bank unaudited financial statements presented at a meeting of the Board of Directors held on 28 October 2021. Following on the announce- ment of the half-yearly results on 29 July 2021, the third quar- ter (3Q) continued being dom- inated by COVID-19 economic disruption with the surfacing of new variants and conse- quent unpredictability on the business landscape. Locally, as tourism numbers increased over summer and Government cautiously eased containment measures, the Group's oper- ating performance maintained its positive momentum. True to its values, APS Bank sup- ported the retail and business community with products across the educational, family, and social space whilst contin- uing to invest in people at all levels and skill sets. At 30 September 2021 the Group's loans portfolio reached €2.0 billion net of im- pairment charges, growing by €184 million (+10.2%) on De- cember 2020. The household sector's demand for home and personal financing steered this expansion contributing the bulk of the increase. With additional liquidity available across the whole banking sys- tem, customer deposits stood at €2.3 billion expanding by €211m (+10.0%) over the nine months. While funding growth slowed marginally in 3Q2021 overall liquidity remained strong and well above regu- latory ratios. Treasury assets for managing liquidity grew by €83 million (+17.4%) from end-2020 to reach €558 mil- lion, in part also reflecting a strong commercial loan port- folio which continued to per- form and cash-flow regularly. During the first nine months Interest Income grew by 10.3% to €50.9 million largely due to the continued growth in the Group's lending book. Inter- est Expense remained at 2020 levels of €10.3 million notwith- standing the significant growth in deposits - evidencing the Group's success in managing its cost of funding more effi- ciently. Net Interest Income increased by 12.3% to €40.6 million, while Other Operat- ing Income, largely made up of results from financial instru- ments and FX gains, followed market trends and retracted marginally in 3Q2021 after the positive performance of the first half - resulting in a net income for the nine months of €0.5 million (2020: €0.6 million). The sustained in- vestment in human resources, technology and systems grew operating costs by €5.2 million to €30.4 million for a Group cost-to-income ratio of 66.1% as at end-September. Net Impairment Charges on credit losses for the first nine months amounted to a write- back of €1.0 million – with a charge of €0.7m in the third quarter on growth in the as- set book and a few legacy loan write-offs. The associated in- vestments in the APS Funds SICAV returned mixed results, whilst the Group's life insur- ance affiliate IVALIFE, which was licensed earlier in the year, maintained its good business momentum. Nine-months' Profit After Tax for the Group amounted to €10.9 million (2020: €8.5 million), with an annualised return on average equity of 6.9% (5.9% for the comparative 2020 period). The Bank's CET1 ratio stood at 13.0% and Capi- tal Adequacy Ratio at 17.1%. CEO Marcel Cassar com- mented: "As the economy adapts to the new contours of the post-COVID crisis, we are pleased to see strong 3Q2021 results which confirm that our business model is prevailing even in such unprecedented circumstances. At the same time, we are vigilant towards any economic risks that may arise from the extent of re- bound in key economic sectors as well as any possible conse- quences of the FATF decision on Malta. Our plans remain on track to approach the market in 2022 to raise new equity as we prepare for our next stage of development. We look at the coming months with renewed confidence and optimism." Employee branding is a core part of our strategy BANK of Valletta recently organised a 'Careers Day @ BOV' at its recently inaugurat- ed concept Branch in Sliema. This recruitment initiative was hosted by the Bank 's Hu- man Resources function with the aim of attracting new tal- ent to join the BOV team. "The number of applications we saw for this event was en- couraging, and it served as a platform to showcase BOV's unique employee value prop- osition" said Dr Vanessa Borg, Chief People and Change Of- ficer at Bank of Valletta. Dr Borg explained how in today's job market, it's essen- tial to recruit candidates that will not only excel in a role but thrive in an organisation's culture which values employee advocacy. During this day, the Bank's Human Resources executives also garnered feedback from potential candidates on trend- ing recruitment practices and how the Bank can continue to evolve as the Employer of Choice. "Employee branding is a core part of our strategy, as we want to provide our em- ployees with an excellent em- ployment opportunity while enabling them to find a bal- ance between work and life." Currently employing over 2000 employees, the Bank con- tinuously looks for enthusi- astic individuals ready to em- bark on a new challenge and a rewarding career with Malta's leading financial institution. "Careers Day @BOV was a good way to meet valuable people, designed for all job seekers, those looking for a new job or others hoping to transition to a different career altogether." You still have a chance to grasp a great opportunity! If you're interested in succeeding within the banking industry, check out all the current BOV vacancies by visiting https:// www.bov.com/vacancies/va - cancies.aspx.

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