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Volksbank reports profit of EUR 3.708 million
5th June 2010
Volksbank Malta Limited has registered a profit after tax of EUR 3.708 million for the year ended December 31, 2009. The decrease when compared to the profit of EUR 8.687 million registered in 2008 is mainly attributable to the sustained low interest rate scenario during the financial year 2009 as the European Central Bank acted to combat growing recessionary pressures and the disruptive impact of the global financial crisis.
"In the demanding environment of the last financial year, the Bank primarily focused on effective cost management," Managing Director Herbert Skok explained. "Volksbank managed to reach very positive results in this area, reducing overheads by 6.2% compared to last year's levels. We did not stop wage increases for our employees, in order to reward the most valuable resource of the Bank, registering a very good cost-income ratio of 35%."
The Bank continued to manage its balance sheet in a carefully prudent and conservative manner. Even though the Bank's balance sheet dropped when compared to the previous year, the Bank continued with its strategic goal to gradually increase the local business. Notwithstanding this, the Capital Adequacy ratio of Bank remained very strong, standing at 33.7% or 4.2 times more than regulatory requirement.
Net interest income, which is the main income contributor to the profit of the bank, stood at EUR 8.015 million, representing a decline of EUR 4.361 million when compared to same period last year.
The bank has extended its delivery channel by opening an agency in Gozo and it has reported a very good response from the Gozo business community.
Volksbank Malta is registered in Malta as a local commercial bank, offering both Maltese and foreign customers the full range of banking services. The Bank has a strong capital base of about EUR 175 million and forms part of the Austrian Volksbank group, which has subsidiaries in 11 Central and Eastern European countries with more than 1,200 branches and outlets, employing almost 9,000 staff members. The group has total assets of EUR 48.1 billion.
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