More lending, borrowing helps BRAC Bank profit grow 32%

BRAC Bank has achieved a 32% growth in its net profit after taxes for 2022 on a consolidated basis.

The top tier private sector lender's Managing Director and CEO Selim R F Hussain thanked the strong growth in its balance sheet that referred to more deposit mobilisation and more lending or investing.

Balance sheet is the part of the financial statement which shows how much asset and liabilities a company holds, while consolidated figures include that of all subsidiary companies.

BRAC Bank's consolidated net profit for the challenging year of 2022 was Tk612 crore, up from Tk465 crore in the previous year, according to its annual financial statement.

The lender on a standalone basis secured a 3.9% increase in its annual net profit that grew to Tk576 crore.

Its customer deposit grew by 24% while loans increased by 28% in 2022.

The bank has delivered strong growth in line with its medium term strategy. BRAC Bank's growth in deposits and loans are well above the industry average and this is a testament to the customers' trust in the bank and its long term sustainability, said its CEO while speaking at an earnings disclosure programme on 30 April.

In 2022, the bank significantly upgraded its digital services and customer propositions, said Hussain adding, "We plan to continue this momentum and double our business by 2025."

The bank's non-performing loans decreased to 3.72% at the end of 2022, from 3.9% a year ago.

The earnings disclosure event, broadcast live on social media, was attended by investment analysts, portfolio managers, and capital market experts from local and foreign markets who were the bank's stakeholders.

BRAC Bank listed with both the Dhaka Stock Exchange and the Chittagong Stock Exchange has been one of the country's fastest-growing banks since its inception in 2001 with a particular focus on the SME segment.

With 187 branches, 20 Sub-branches, 330 ATMs, 456 SME Unit Offices, 1,000 Agent Banking Outlets and a diverse workforce of more than 8,000 people BRAC Bank also serves customers across the Corporate and Retail segments.

The bank has generated particularly strong financial performance over the past five years and now leads the industry in most of the financial metrics. With more than 1.3 million customers the bank has already proved to be the largest collateral-free SME financier in just 21 years of its operation in Bangladesh.