F.P. Report
Lahore: A meeting of the Board of Directors of The Bank of Punjab (BOP) was held on February 17, 2023. During the meeting, annual audited Financial Statements of the Bank for the year ended December 31, 2022 were approved by the Board.
The Board, while reviewing financial performance of the Bank, appreciated the efforts of Management for showing remarkable financial results despite very challenging economic conditions and political uncertainty along with once-in-a-lifetime natural disaster, i.e. the super floods of 2022 inflicted losses of USD 30 billion to our fragile economy and to the livelihoods of more than 30 million citizens.
The Board noted with pleasure that despite all the headwind due to global and macroeconomic conditions, Bank has improved in all areas of operations and overall performance has remained well aligned with Bank’s strategic business plan. This is being acknowledged by the Market as during the period under review, BOP has been awarded with 11 prestigious domestic and international awards and accreditations during one year which is unprecedented and exceptional in the industry, including; the Corporate Finance House of the Year 2021 – Fixed Income award from the CFA society of Pakistan, and PBA’s Best Bank for Small & Medium Enterprises 2022 award.
During the year 2022, BOP launched a range of product and service offerings, including Credit Card, Digibop Mobile App & Internet Banking, philanthropic employee volunteering program “BOP Madadgar”, in addition to BOP Naaz, and BOP@Work. BOP Select was launched to expand BOP’s Khaas proposition, and NIFT ePay Services were introduced to increase its Mobile App’s use-case scenarios.
Other high-profile product launches include the development of the innovative Area Yield Index Insurance, Electronic Warehouse Receipt Financing, and an all-new Card Management System with Euronet. An intuitive Customer Lifecycle Management system was also implemented to enhance the Bank’s digital service delivery.
As a result, during the year 2022, Bank’s Balance Sheet grew by 24% and reached the level of Rs. 1.48 Trillion. As on December 31, 2022, Bank’s deposits stood at the level of Rs.1.23 Trillion showing a commendable growth of 22%. With prudent management of resources, aggressive business expansion and introduction of new products & services, the Bank has been able to post before tax profit of Rs. 18.51 billion during year 2022. Earnings per Share (EPS) for year 2022 stood at Rs. 3.64 per share.
During the year 2022, Net Interest Margin (NIM) improved to Rs. 30.76 billion as against Rs. 29.88 billion during year 2021. Non-Markup/ Interest Income (excluding gains on securities) increased to Rs. 10.23 billion as against Rs. 6.12 billion showing a substantial increase of 67%. During the year, Bank’s NPLs reduced to Rs. 51.56 billion on account of recovery/regularization with net recoveries/reversal of Rs. 0.47 billion during the year.
Investments and Gross Advances were recorded at Rs. 638.26 billion and Rs. 634.38 billion, respectively. Book Value per share (excluding surplus on assets) improved to Rs. 22.65 as against Rs. 21.26 as on December 31, 2021. As on December 31, 2022, Bank’s Equity improved to Rs. 65.05 billion as against Rs. 54.83 billion as on December 31, 2021. The bank during the year managed to improve its risk profile despite the economy being besieged by severe challenges.
In addition, BOP was also able to raise tier 1 capital via TFC issue of Rs. 8.02 billion exhibiting the faith the market has in BOP’s financial strength. Bank’s CAR and LR stood at 13.11% and 3.46% respectively as of December 31, 2022.
Keeping in view Bank’s Strategic Business Plan envisaging aggressive business growth and further CAPEX commitment in the areas of Information Technology & Digitalization, requiring strong capital base, the Board announced and recommended a Stock Dividend of 10% for Shareholders for the year 2022.
In recognition of Bank’s strong financial position, The Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA) has maintained Bank’s long term entity rating at “AA+” with short term rating being already at the highest rank of “A1+”. The Bank currently has a countrywide network of 780 online branches, including 140 Taqwa Islamic Banking Branches. Further, the Bank is providing 24/7 banking services to the customers through its vast network of 706 ATMs and other Digital Banking Services.
During the year 2022 the bank expanded its branch network by 116 branches and is targeting an almost similar number during the year 2023 with increased emphasis on opening more and more Islamic branches.
