KUALA LUMPUR: Public Bank Bhd’s net profit increased to RM5.66 billion in the financial year ended Dec 31, 2021 (FY2021) from RM4.87 billion a year earlier.
However, its revenue was lower at RM19.62 billion from RM20.30 billion previously.
Public Bank founder and chairman emeritus Tan Sri Teh Hong Piow said the group’s sound fundamentals and business strengths in its core lending and deposit business continued to support the bank’s financial performance.
“The board of directors is declaring a second interim dividend of 7.7 sen per share. The second interim dividend will be paid on March 22, 2022, based on the dividend entitlement date of March 14, 2022.
“Together with the first interim dividend of 7.5 sen per share, the full-year dividend for 2021 amounts to 15.2 sen. This represents a total dividend payout of RM2.95 billion or 52.2 per cent of the group’s net profit for 2021,” he said in a statement today.
In 2021, the Public Bank group achieved total loans growth of 3.6 per cent to RM358 billion.
Domestic loans grew by 3.4 per cent to RM334.6 billion, mainly supported by lending for residential properties, hire purchase and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) but partially offset by the moderation in corporate loans arising from large repayment from certain corporate customers.
In terms of funding, the group’s total customer deposits grew by 4 per cent to RM380.4 billion. Domestically, total customer deposits grew by 4.5 per cent to RM352.6 billion.
Public Bank’s low-cost savings and demand deposits had shown particularly strong growth of 11.7 per cent, which had contributed positively to the group’s net interest margin.
Teh said the group was able to achieve continued loans and deposit growth amid the highly intense competition in the market.
As at end-December 2021, Public Bank’s funding position remained stable with a gross loan to fund and an equity ratio of 80 per cent.
In 2021, the group recorded a marginal increase of 1.4 per cent in overhead expenses.
On the back of the continued income growth, coupled with cost discipline, the cost-to-income ratio remained at an efficient level of 31.6 per cent compared to the domestic banking industry’s average of 42.8 per cent.
Meanwhile, about RM83.4 billion of domestic loans have been approved under the Repayment Assistance Programmes as of the end of December 2021, benefiting nearly 438,000 customers.
As for special financing schemes initiated by the government and Bank Negara Malaysia, Teh said Public Bank has extended about RM3.4 billion of financing to more than 17,700 SMEs.
As at the end of December 2021, the group’s common equity Tier 1 capital ratio, Tier 1 capital ratio and total capital ratio stood at a healthy level of 14.5 per cent, 14.6 per cent and 17.7 per cent respectively, while liquidity coverage ratio remained healthy at 127.3 per cent. – BERNAMA
