ABA Bank, commercial bank in Cambodia, has continued its record pace of growth, posting a half-yearly net profit of $130.57 million, for the first six months of the year, a 40 percent rise from the same period last year, while maintaining a six percent increase in the loan portfolio with $6.1 billion in total besides having 2.5 million customers.
Meanwhile, ABA Bank’s deposits reached $6.9 billion in the second quarter.
Releasing the results for Q2, ABA Bank Chairman Yves Jacquot said that despite the general economic uncertainties, ABA Bank, with its solid financial fundamentals, remains a safe and stable institution on its upward trajectory.
“The continuous growth of the customer base and sound financial performance reflects the bank’s strategy effectiveness and strong position in the financial sector,” he added.
According to the chairman, these results rest primarily upon the bank’s leverage on its state-of-art digital banking and self-banking platforms. The bank has continued to improve its ABA Mobile banking application by bringing new convenient services and features.
In addition, ABA Bank’s physical network also expanded and improved. The bank expanded its ABA 24/7 locations allowing consumers to make cash deposits or withdrawals, deposit checks from any local bank, and issue local and international cards free of charge.
The bank opened four new ABA 24/7 self-banking spots in Phnom Penh and Battambang Province during the period.
It also relocated one of its busiest branches at Independence Monument in Phnom Penh to larger premises due to the steadily growing clientele in the area.
The chairman added that “ABA Bank continues to implement its business strategy, focusing on digital finance products and productive loans to businesses in various sectors of the economy. While continuously innovating for banking solutions, the bank applies a robust risk management culture strengthened by audit and compliance functions.”
As global markets face economic uncertainties, a key agenda for both the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) and the Association of Banks in Cambodia has been to increase the loan-to-deposit ratios.
According to the NBC 2021 annual report, outstanding loans by banks rose by 21 percent year-on-year to $45.7 billion, while customers’ deposits only increased by 15 percent to $38.5 billion representing a loan-to-deposit ratio of over 188 percent.
During the last six months, ABA has increased its customer deposits from $6.3 billion to $6.88 billion, a nine percent increase from the beginning of the year, representing an 88 percent loan-to-deposit ratio.
ABA has also increased its overall customer base by 21 percent in the first half of 2022.
The bank kept participating in the SME Co-Financing Scheme (SCFS), an initiative of the government to provide affordable loans to SMEs. The amount of active disbursed loans from ABA under this scheme was $9.6 million by the end of June 2022. The bank provided loans for capital expenditure and working capital with a special interest rate not exceeding 7.50 percent and a repayment term of up to seven years.
Being the first Cambodia commercial bank to issue corporate bonds for 84.8 billion riels, ABA also played a role in developing the country’s securities market and promoting the local currency.
In April, the Global Finance International magazine named ABA Bank as the ‘Best Bank in Cambodia 2022.’ The magazine’s judging panel praised ABA’s recent significant development of its ecosystem and innovative financial products and services.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
