Wema Bank Plc on Friday said that its gross earnings grew to N32.57 billion in the third quarter of 2015.
This is contained in the bank’s unaudited 2015 third quarter financial results released by the Nigeria Stock exchange in Lagos.
The figure represents a three per cent growth on the N31.65 billion recorded in the same period in 2014.
It also said that its interest income on loans and advances also grew to N26.58 billion, compared to N26.13 billion in the corresponding period in 2014.
The growth represents a two per cent increase.
However, profit before tax stood at N1.53 billion in the third quarter of 2015, down from the N2.51 billion recorded in the same period of 2014.
Mr Segun Oloketuyi, the Managing Director of Wema Bank Plc, explained that the micro-economic challenges affected the bank’s performance.
Oloketuyi said, “During the period up to Q3 2015, the challenging macro-economic headwinds which pervaded the business environment no doubt took its toll on the performance of the bank.
“Though we were able to grow top-line earnings by three per cent, compared to the third quarter of 2014, our margins reduced slightly.
“This is as a result of the additional liquidity demands placed on the industry by the restrictive monetary policies of the regulator.”
He added that the slowdown within the retail segment due to a decline in disposable income, especially among the middle class customers, also affected the bank’s performance.
“Despite the restrictive policies, we were able to maintain the core of our deposit volumes after adjustments for the Treasury Single Account (TSA) payment.
“Deposit volumes closed at N221 billion, with cost of funds about five per cent.
“Looking forward to the rest of the year, we are cautiously optimistic that there will be more clarity on the economic direction of the new government.
“We believe that economic policies will be focused on stimulating growth in the critical sectors,” he added.
Oloketuyi also said that with the anticipated improvements in the economic climate, the bank should be in a better position to deliver improved performance in the coming months. (NAN)
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