Sathapana returns to growth after merger
Sathapana returns to growth after merger
Sathapana Bank reported a net profit of $18.58 million last year, a return to 2015-levels following a steep drop in profits in 2016, which were attributed to the bank’s merger with Japanese-owned Maruhan Bank.
As a result of that April 2016 merger, Sathapana – which holds nearly 4 percent of total assets in Cambodia’s banking sector – transitioned from a microfinance institution to a commercial bank.
“The bank made good profit recovery in 2017 from the challenging merger year of 2016, and grew faster than the market average in 2017,” said Norihiko Kato, Sathapana’s CEO.
The bank’s sheets last year were boosted by an increase in fees collected and a decline in the overall nonperforming loan ratio (NPL).
“The retail loan NPL ratio slightly increased in 2017, but the commercial loan NPL ratio decreased, which offset the banks overall NPL to be lower than 2016,” he said.
The overall NPL ratio dropped from 1.57 percent in 2016 to 1.33 percent last year, slightly better than the industry average of 1.50 percent.
The bank also pulled in $5.37 million in fees and commissions last year, a jump from just under $1 million the year before, which Norihiko said was a result of the expansion of Sathapana’s commercial banking arm.
The bank’s total assets grew by 10 percent to $1.02 billion, its total loan portfolio grew 32 percent to $794 million, and deposits grew by 6 percent to reach $618 million, while its return on equity rose to 12.05 percent, up from 6.51 percent the year before.
