THAIBANKEN MIT GEWINN IM 1.Q - 500 Beiträge pro Seite

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Banks set to enjoy profits for first time in 3 years
BANGKOK, April 12 (TNA) – Six commercial banks listed on the stock market are set to register net profits in the first quarter of this year, the first time in three years after the country had plunged into the economic crisis since 1997, according to a leading securities brokerage.
The banks are expected to show combined net profits of 4.85 billion baht with Bangkok Bank set to enjoy the biggest gain of 2.91 billion baht, says a securities analysis report by Capital Nomura’s Research Division.
Others are Siam Commercial Bank (1.19 billion baht), Krung Thai (585.54 million), Thai Farmers (525.59 million), Bank of Asia (266.54 million) and DBS Thai Danu (173.73 million).
Still, the remaining three banks listed on the bourse are projected to see operational results remain in red. They include Bank of Ayudhya (428.19 million baht), BankThai (241.52 million) and Thai Military Bank (134.49 million).
The report says banks that could probably manage to maintain interest-based gains in the first quarter of 2001 include DBS Thai Dana, Siam Commercial and Thai Farmers.
The first has already sold off most non-performing loans while the second, unlike other big banks, does not carry interest burdens on preferred and subordinated debentures public known as Caps. The third enjoys lower deposit costs than other banks do because it has a big portion of saving accounts.
Banks that are likely to register low interest-based gains including Thai Military, Bank of Ayudhya and BankThai since they have higher deposit costs than large banks do.
The report states the interest-base incomes are anticipated to drop further. But it is believed commercial banks would enjoy higher non-interest revenue, particularly from foreign exchange transactions, since more business operators hedged against the baht fluctuation.
Banks that are projected to earn high revenue from the forex deals are large ones including Bangkok Bank, Thai Farmers and Siam Commercial.
Quelle: TNA News Digest
Last Update : 4/12/01 : 2:14:46 AM(-7 = GMT)

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Capital increase not yet planned

piyanouch mano
staff writer
BANK of Ayudhya chairman and chief executive officer Krit Ratanarak disclosed yesterday the bank would not increase its capitalisation this year, but will instead trim personnel by another 1,000.

He said the bank will retain its BIS ratio of 12.22 percent, which is sufficient for its operations, and is actually above the level required by the Bank of Thailand.

He emphasised that the present level of capital should cover operations for the next two to three years.

Krit said that under present circumstances he can assure shareholders that they will not be disappointed by the bank`s performance this year and that they will get the maximum benefits from their investment.

"I am totally committed to the bank`s operational improvement and I will do everything to enable our shareholders to receive their dividends as soon as possible," he said.

However, Krit added that to sustain operations, the bank will have to cut its workforce by another 1,000.

Eventually, the bank hopes to have 8,700 employees by the year`s end, he said.

Krit said the bank`s personnel division will carefully evaluate the performance of all its employees and that those who fall below the bank`s standards will be laid off.

Krit added that the bank expects to profit this year, which is a complete turnaround from last year`s performance when it posted a net loss of about 8.5 billion baht.

"First quarter lending amounts to four billion baht. We expect this to expand to 18 billion baht by the end of the year," he said.

Quelle: bday.net 14.4.01

BAY +12.9% Last 7.00Baht

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NPLs expected to stand below 10% at year-end, says BOT
BANGKOK, April 17 (TNA) – The Bank of Thailand has projected non-performing loans in the financial sector would reduce to be lower than 10% of outstanding loans at year-end due to progress in debt restructuring through state help and by commercial banks themselves.
The BOT said in a report that the debt-restructuring process was expected to gain momentum for this year since it had been facilitated by the Corporate Debt-Restructuring Acceleration Committee (CDRAC).
The transfer of NPLs held by two debtors or more from commercial banks to the newly-established Thai Asset Management Corporation would also help ease the NPLs in the financial sector to the 10% level.
The report said total loans in default should be considered whether they are NPLs or bad loans.
Some of assets transferred to TAMC could not be regarded as NPLs because they were converted from bad loans to bad assets which still need to be solved.
“Most of the bad loans come from Bangkok Asset Management and Sukumvit Asset Management. Debt-restructuring agreements for the loans had already been signed by creditors and debtors with CDRAC acting as only a go-between.”
With the establishment of TAMC, many viewed that much progress in the debt-restructuring process would be seen because the corporation had been given greater authority to deal with the bad loans than CDRAC had. Quelle(TNA)
Last Update : 4/17/01 : 1:06:27 PM

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Economy overshadows improving bank results


EXPECTATIONS that the bank sector will post a net profit for the first time since the 1997 crisis were tempered yesterday by the head of the Thai Bankers Association, who warned the banks could be hurt by the economic slowdown.

Chulakorn Singhakowin, chairman of the Thai Bankers` Association (TBA) and president of Bank of Asia (BOA), said that unless the economy improved, massive amounts of capital would need to be set aside in reserve late this year.

"If Thai economic conditions remain poor, restructured loans may turn into problem loans again, which will lead to a decline in asset value and increase banks` required loan loss reserves," Chulakorn was quoted as saying by Bisnews.

Although domestic banks may generate greater operating profits, the reserve provisions would mean lower net profit, Dow Jones Newswires reported Chulakorn as saying.

The chairman`s warning came after a recent buying spree in bank and finance stocks, that helped push the stock market up 3.7 per cent on Wednesday, on hopes that banks would show handsome profits in the first-quarter.

That anticipation is based on the assumption that banks and finance companies no longer need hefty amounts of capital for their reserves after completing the 100-per-cent reserve requirements set by the Bank of Thailand.

Capital Nomura Securities Plc has estimated that Thai banks would record a combined net profit of Bt4.85 billion in the first quarter of this year - the first industry wide profit for the sector since the crisis erupted in 1997.

Thai Farmers Bank (TFB) yesterday announced its unaudited earnings for the first quarter, totalling Bt58.6 million, down significantly from Bt324.4 million in the same period of 2000.

The steep decline in the year-on-year figure was mainly attributed to an additional Bt1.4 billion provisioning for the recovery of impaired assets.

Thai Farmers said it realised a loss of Bt613 million in the first quarter, incurred from its subsidiaries and affiliates.

The country`s third largest lender had delinquent loans amounting to Bt65.62 billion, or 13.32 per cent of its outstanding lending, as of the end of March.

State-run BankThai announced an unaudited net profit of Bt201 million for the first quarter, compared with Bt226 million loss in the corresponding period of 2000.

Kiatnakin Finance Plc showed a higher net profit of Bt386.35 million in its unaudited first quarter result against Bt173.42 million profit over the same period a year earlier.

LAST MODIFIED: Thursday, 19-Apr-01 12:11:56 EDT

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Moody’s refines its bankrating system

Moody’s Investors Service has refined its financialstrength ratings for Thai banks and will implement the new minussign modifiers and revised ratings definitions that it announced at the end of February.

The new rating scale will increase the number of risk categories to 13 from nine by introducing a minus to ratings above the “E” category.

The ratings refinements are intended to permit greater differentiation among the relative financial strengths of financial institutions globally, the rating agency says. They do not reflect any change in the credit profiles or financial strengths of the banks affected.

Moody’s says that the bank financialstrength ratings represent an opinion of a financial institution’s intrinsic safety and soundness and can be understood as a measure of the likelihood that a bank or other financial firm will require assistance from third parties, such as its owners or official institutions.

Analytical factors taken into account include: franchise value; earnings power; risks (credit, market, liquidity, funding, assetliability management, opera¬tional, reputation, etc) and their management; the bank’s level of economic capital; governance; management priorities and strategies; as well as the quality and stability of the environment in which a particular bank operates.

Unlike Moody’s bank depositanddebt ratings, the bank financial strength ratings do not directly address the probability of timely payment. They do not take into account the probability that the bank will receive external support, nor do they address the risks arising from sovereign actions that may interfere with a bank’s ability to honour its domestic or foreign currency obligations.

The financial strength of banks are rated on the following scale: A, A, B+, B, B, C+, C, C, D+, D, D, E+, E.

The Nation 15.5.01

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BT asked to explain huge rise

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) asked BankThai Plc (BT) yesterday to explain the 1,700 per cent rise in its uncommon stock. Analysts have said the share price does not reflect the company’s fundamental value.

Patareeya Benjapolchai, senior vice president of the SET, said the exchange has been regularly monitoring the stock’s unusual movements since the bank’s shares resumed trading on March 30, after being suspended for three years.

Yesterday, BT shares jumped Bt6, or 17.65 per cent, to close at Bt40, representing a 1,718 per cent gain since the first day of trading on March 30, when the shares opened at Bt2.2 apiece.

BT stock had been suspended from trading for three years after authorities intervened.BT president Phirasilp Subhapholsiri told the stock market that the bank’s shooting stock price was due mainly to the market’s reaction to its first quarter net profit of Bt201.26 million, as well as bad loans compensation approved by the Cabinet in April last year.

An analyst from Yuanta Securities (Thailand) Co Ltd warned small investors to avoid the bank’s stock at this high level, saying it is too risky and beyond its fundamental.

He said the rising price was the result of major shareholders ramping the bank’s price in a bid to unload their portfolio to small investors.

He added, however, that such a practice could not be considered stock manipulation as their share holding was not large enough.

Siriporn Chanjindamanee

The Nation 15.5.01