This is even as the lender disclosed that its net operating income rose to N18.779 billion in the quarter under review compared to the N18.565 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2019, representing an increase of 1.2 percent.
These figures were contained in the bank's condensed unaudited group interim financial statement released over the weekend.
The bank's Managing Director, Mr.
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A further analysis of the figures indicated that the bank's marginal drop in net profit to N2.065 billion was due to a combination of a decline in fees and commission income following the downward review of transactional charges and a slight increase in total expenses which rose from N15.3 billion in 2019 to N16.6 billion in 2020.
The increase was driven mainly by other operating expenses and depreciation and amortization costs. Income tax expense also went up from N33 million in 2019 to N154 million in 2020.
However, the bank was able to reduce its non-performing loans from 2.2 percent to two percent during the review period.
Suleiman said the bank's deposit base rose to N898.576 billion in the first quarter of 2020 from N892.660 billion in the corresponding period of 2019, loans and advances up to N627.122 billion from N618.732 while total assets rose to N1.231 trillion from N1.182 trillion, representing a growth of 4.1 percent.
© Pakistan Press International, source