Access Bank Grows Q3 Profit to N72bn

Access Bank Plc has announced animpressive profit of N72 billion for the nine months ended 30 September 2016 basedon enhanced business efficiency as a result of the effective execution of its long-termstrategy. The Bank’s Profit Before Tax (PBT) showed an increase of 19% from N60.4 billionrecorded during the same period in 2015. Profit After Tax (PAT) grew by similar marginfrom N48.1 billion in 2015 to N57.1 billion in 2016.Access Bank Group’s unaudited nine-month results released to the Nigerian StockExchange (NSE) on Friday also showed Gross Earnings of N274.5 billion, up 7% fromN257.6 billion in the corresponding period of 2015. The growth in gross earnings wasdriven by 17% increase in interest income on the back of continued growth in theBank’s core business.Similarly, the Bank posted 12% growth in operating income to N199.3 billion fromN178.1 billion in 2015. Customer Deposits grew 25% to 2.10₦ trillion from 1.68 trillion₦in December 2015. Access Bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) remained solid at 19% as at September2016, well above the regulatory minimum.Commenting on the result, Group Managing Director/CEO, Herbert Wigwe said,“Access Bank’s performance in the first three quarters of this year remained strong andconsistent, reflecting a stable business with the capacity to deliver sustainable returns,particularly during a period underlined by significant macro headwinds.” According tohim, the Group maintained stable asset quality, recording NPL and Cost of Risk Ratios(CRR) of 2.1% and 0.9%, respectively. “Our capital and liquidity position remained adequately above regulatory levels, as wecontinued to implement a disciplined capital plan, ensuring sufficient levels of profitretention to support our growth. In addition to capital enhancement, the recentlyconcluded $300 million senior unsecured debt issue allows us optimise and enhanceour foreign currency funding capacity whilst strengthening our balance sheet,”