SCB reports slight growth in net earnings for 2016

SCB enjoyed higher net interest income (NII) and net fee income, but gains on investments and provisions declined significantly.
NII rose to Bt88.45 billion, an increase of 6.8 per cent from 2015. The increase was mainly due to the bank’s proactive strategy to manage its cost of deposits as well as 5.8-per-cent loan growth over the previous year.
President and chief executive officer Arthid Nanthawithaya said: “In 2016, we were able to maintain high earnings similar to the previous year’s level with the bank’s strategy to be highly attentive to our customers during a period of slow economic recovery. 
“Although the NPL [non-performing loan] ratio has shown marked improvement, the bank continues to maintain a coverage ratio above 130 per cent with our emphasis on a strong balance sheet.”
The NPL ratio was 2.67 per cent at the end of 2016, a decrease from 2.8 per cent at the end of 2015 due to an improvement in asset quality of the corporate segment, offset by a slight increase in NPLs of the SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) and retail segments. 
Loan-loss provisions for 2016 were Bt22.528 billion, a decrease of 24.2 per cent from the previous year due to an improvement in asset quality.
Non-interest income decreased 17.5 per cent from 2015, primarily a result of large one-time gains from the sale of equity investment booked that year. Excluding these large gains, non-interest income would have decreased by 3.9 per cent year on year on lower revenue from the bank’s life-insurance subsidiary and lower net trading and foreign-exchange income.