By Ngozi Amuche
Sterling Bank Plc has reported an increase in its customers deposit to N818.6 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2019.
This was against the N760.6 billion which was reported in 2018, indicating a growth of 7.6 percent, while total assets grew by 4.8 per cent to N1.156 trillion against N1.10 trillion in the same period.
The banks gross earnings were down by N74.50 billion, from N77.61 billion in the corresponding period of 2018. Net interest income grew by 19.1 per cent to N30.4 billion as against N25.5 billion for the corresponding period of 2018.
However, profit after tax fell from N6.21 billion to N5.66 billion. Overall the bank recorded a 5.5 per cent improvement in operating income and a profit after tax of N5.66 billion.
Commenting on the financial performance, Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, said: “Underlying our half year performance was a concerted effort in improving the quality of our funding base, increasingly through digital products and initiatives.
Though top line earnings were impacted by a selective approach to lending, the bank remained focused on building a sustainable business model and continued to see considerable improvement across business lines, particularly our retail and consumer and digital and transactional banking businesses.”
According to him, the bank managed to achieve a 14 per cent decline in interest expense in line with the bank’s strategic objectives, resulting in a 170 basis points drop in cost of funds and, consequently, a 131 basis points increase in net interest margin.
He noted that bank achieved 14.5 per cent growth in low cost funds, delivering a 7.6 per cent growth in customer deposits while net operating income grew by 4.3 per cent.
Personnel costs rose by 14 per cent in line with the bank’s commitment to intensify strategy execution, as operating expense grew by 6.1 per cent while a continuous growth in retained earnings delivered a 12.7 per cent increase in shareholders’ funds to N110.1 billion.
