Polaris Bank Declares ₦27.8bn Profit In First Year Operations
OMOTAYO ARAOYE
Polaris Bank Limited has announced a N27.8 billion profit and a gross earnings figure of ₦150.8 billion in its first full year of operations.
The bank, in its first audited IFRS 2019 compliant financial result, closed the 2019 operations with total assets of N1.1 trillion and telling a compelling narrative of a historic turn-around led by its managing director, Adetokunbo Abiru.
The bank also closed the year with shareholders’ funds totaling N83 billion, a capital adequacy ratio of 14 percent and a liquidity ratio of 81 percent that are well above regulatory requirements and indicative of a strong prudential compliance and strong capital buffer, careful liquidity management and resilience.
This result is cheering amidst a highly challenging business environment which forced many businesses to cut down on their operating expenses.
The Bank’s customer deposits stood at N857.9 billion even as it continues to focus on stable, low-cost deposits and well-diversified portfolio devoid of high concentration. Likewise, the loan book stood at N261billion providing the bank with the desired headroom to accommodate required growth in risk assets to support the nation’s economic growth.
The Bank equally announced a Return on Equity (ROE) and Return on Assets (ROA) of 33 percent and 2.4 percent respectively for the year ended December 31st, 2019.
Commenting on the Bank’s performance, its Managing Director, Adetokunbo Abiru said that “the emergence of Polaris Bank on September 21, 2018, has heralded new dawn as it laid the foundation for institutional competitiveness and service innovation in the nation’s challenging banking space.”
Expressing satisfaction with the Bank’s new corporate governance regime, the Chief Executive Officer noted that “We shall continue to run an ethically governed Bank, upholding sound risk management practices and proactively taking measures to mitigate the impact of the adverse business environment while the Board and Management continue to guide the Bank towards a path of sustainable growth.
Polaris Bank’s performance has assured a strong positive outlook for earnings, margins, and profitability improvement in its cautious pursuit of loan growth, a sustained strategy for operational efficiency, funding cost optimization, and efficient deposit mix. The headroom for loan creation no doubt presents an opportunity for improved margins.
Going into the year 2020 and despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, the bank says it is poised to reap the benefits of its investment in both the capacity of its employees to improve service experience as well as in critical infrastructures that will support the digitization of its operations.
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