SunTrust Bank reports N343.34mn pre-tax profit

…operated as commercial bank only four months in 2016

The directors of SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited have presented the financial information of the bank for the year ended December 31, 2016.
SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s first full-fledged technology bank, is a limited liability company with privately held shares and accordingly is not listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
The summary of the financial statement seen by BusinessDay shows a pre-tax profit of N343.344million, up by 160.25 percent from N131.928million in 2015. The bank also reported 74.57 percent increase in profit after tax (PAT) to N212.707million, up from N121.844million in 2015.
Net interest income increased from N220.343million in 2015 to N935.892million in 2016. Its net operating income after impairment on financial assets increased remarkably from N492.877million in 2015 to N1.312billion in the review year 2016.
Consistent with its conservative risk profile, the bank maintained its strong liquidity position, with cash and short-term funds accounting for 32percent of its total assets.
The bank recorded a rapid growth in deposits by an impressive 425 percent in four months, a clear demonstration of the success of its business strategy.
The bank is the first commercial bank that runs minimal branches and focuses on electronic channels by offering telephone, mobile and internet banking services. Deposits from customers rose to N4.195billion from a record N788.583million in 2015.
The bank also reaped the benefits of its low cost profile by recording a growth in net interest income by 325%. Similarly, the bank grew its profit before tax by 74.6%.
Furthermore, notwithstanding that SunTrust had to absorb the expected huge costs of starting off, its cost to income ratio of about 69percent was far lower than the industry average of 89percent.
Usman Abdulqadir, Chief Risk and Finance Officer, SunTrust Bank Nigeria Limited, noted that the bank operated as a commercial bank only for four months in 2016, from August 1 – December 31.
“The bank aims to continue to take advantage of the growing broadband internet penetration and the increasing innovation in mobile devices, to further democratise banking services in the country and ensure greater financial inclusion”, Abdulqadir noted.

 

Iheanyi Nwachukwu