The profit after tax represents a growth of 14 per cent when compared with N4.48 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2018.

Its total assets also grew by 14 per cent to N253.35 billion from N222.78 billion in 2018.

Loans and advances to customers was up 34 per cent to N72.68 billion during the period compared with N54.3 billion achieved in 2018.

Also, customer deposits rose by nine per cent to N138.08 billion in 2019 in contrast with N126.90 in 2018.

Its shareholders’ funds increased by 11 per cent to N34.57 billion against N31.15 billion in the comparative period of 2018.

Commenting on the financial results, Mr Banjo Adegbohungbe, the bank’s acting Managing Director, lauded the performance during the review period in spite of harsh operating environment.

“Despite the volatility of our operating environment, we navigated the headwinds that dominated the year to deliver a modest performance in our financial results.

“We will continue to actively partner with our customers to support their aspirations and deliver sustainable returns whilst being guided by our values of leadership, innovation and integrity,” Adegbohungbe said.

He stated that non-interest income grew by 64% per cent, mainly driven by trading income.

Adegbohungbe noted that the bank took advantage of the market volatility and increased market penetration in fixed income trading in the year.

He said the bank fully divested from its subsidiaries, returning its focus to its core strength of banking.

According to him, this divestment is expected to free up additional capital and increase shareholders’ value.

He said that operating expense declined moderately due to effective cost saving initiatives implemented by the organisation.

“The bank was able to curtail the Year on Year operating expense which dipped by one per cent despite prevalent double-digit inflation.

“The bank’s risk assets recorded an increase of 34 per cent, mainly attributable to the need to aggressively cover the earning asset gap in the face of declining yields and to ensure continued compliance with regulatory measures to improve lending,” he added.

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The profit represented a growth of five per cent when compared to N144.18 billion achieved in the corresponding period of 2018.

The bank in the unaudited result released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) said that profit before tax stood at N176.18 billion against N167.31 billion in the comparative period of 2018.

Also, the lender increased its gross earnings for the period by 3.52 per cent to N491.3 billion against N474.6 billion in nine months of 2018.

The group recorded a significant growth in non-interest income, expanding by 22 per cent to N156.8 billion from N128.7 billion in corresponding period of 2018.

The bank said that its cost optimisation strategies and aggressive retail banking drive were yielding the desired effects as cost-to-income ratio declined from 51.2 per cent in third quarter 2018 to 50.1 per cent in Q3 2019.

Similarly, Earnings Per Share (EPS) rose by five per cent to N4.80 during the period under review from N4.58 in Q3 2018.

“Our robust risk management framework has ensured that non-performing loans (NPL) ratio declined from 4.98 per cent in December 2018 to 4.95 per cent in the current period.

“Our commitment to maintaining a shock-proof balance sheet remains with liquidity and capital adequacy ratios at 63.8 per cent and 23.8 per cent respectively, both above regulatory thresholds.

“In this final quarter of the year, we will sustain our competitiveness and share of market in the corporate segment and build upon our digital foundations to reinforce our retail banking initiatives,” the bank said.

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