Sterling Bank Plc, a full service national commercial bank released its unaudited results for the half-year ended June 30, 2021. The lender delivered a profit after tax of N5.69 billion in the first half of the year, representing a growth of 5.1%.
In the financial result made available to Brand Spur, Sterling Bank’s gross earnings grew by 2.5% to N68.6bn from N66.9bn in the previous quarter with a decline of 4.6% in Net Assets from N136bn to N130bn.
Financial performance highlights
- Growth in earnings supported by growth in non-interest revenue (up 33.4%) particularly from fees & commission (up 57.7%) despite a 34.8% dip in trading income.
- The decline in interest expense by 10.5% delivered an 80 bps drop in the cost of funds as the yield on earning assets dropped by 130bps. Consequently, the net interest margin stood at 7.7%
- Recorded a 10.0% growth in net operating income as we proactively grew credit loss provisioning.
- Growth in OPEX by 10.5% is driven primarily by FX revaluation losses and an increase in fixed asset costs.
- Recorded a 12.7% growth in total assets as shareholders funds declined marginally by 4.6% to N129.5 billion.
- Maintained strong regulatory capital and liquidity metrics recording 15.0% and 30.7% respectively above regulatory benchmark.
Other non-financials highlights
- Awarded ‘People First Health & Safety Award’ by The Chartered Institute of Personnel Managers of Nigeria (CIPMN).
- Beta launch of our digital corporate lending platform, Gazelle. This platform is designed to facilitate credit to corporates leveraging digital technology and machine learning functionalities.
Abubakar Suleiman, Chief Executive, Sterling Bank Remarks:
“The pace of economic recovery in the first half of the year exceeded expectations and with it, rising consumer and corporate confidence despite looming threats of the third wave of Covid-19. This was evident in the performance of key business lines.
Consistent with the last several quarters, we reported meaningful organic deposit growth, improvement in our credit quality, and a stable core expense base. During the period, a key focus for us was to deliver innovative solutions to support businesses – SME’s and Corporates alike.
We successfully launched the Beta version of our digital corporate lending platform, Gazelle. This platform is designed to facilitate credit to corporates leveraging digital technology and machine learning functionalities. We also launched SocialPay, an innovative payment platform for SME’s.
In the second half of the year, we will continue to enhance our execution capabilities to deliver solutions that enable our customers to thrive in a dynamic environment”
Sterling Bank Plc is a leading national commercial banking establishment in Nigeria. It commenced operations as NAL Bank in 1960. Today, with over N1 trillion in total assets, 157 business offices and over 800 ATMs nationwide, Sterling Bank has grown into a major financial institution. The Bank prides itself as ‘Your one-customer bank’ that celebrates each customer as a unique individual.