Scotiabank Trinidad and Tobago Ltd made $3 million more in income after tax for the first quarter ended January 31, 2021, when compared the same period last year.
Managing director Stephen Bagnarol said the bank was proud of its performance.
Bagnarol said Scotiabank was seeing the benefits from its investments in processes and technology.
“Our customers and employees have demonstrated strong resiliency and we are extremely proud of their efforts throughout these challenging times. For customers who have been negatively impacted, they have now moved into a payment programme to suit their particular situations,” he said.
“Our employees continue to go above and beyond, despite their own personal and professional challenges during the pandemic and this quarter, as a result, we have recorded growth in new business in our retail and commercial segments from where we left off in the last fiscal year as well as seen all-time highs in our key customer service metrics,” Bagnarol said.
According to the statement, the bank’s quarterly performance was driven by a reduction in net impairment losses of $29 million or 56 per cent as it continues to take a prudent approach to loan loss provisioning within the economic climate.
The statement said the credit quality of the bank’s loan portfolio continues to be solid as the ratio of non-accrual loans to total average loans stood at 2.35 per cent as at the end of the period.
Scotiabank noted the decline in total revenue of $35 million was mainly due to first quarter results in a pre-COVID period.
The bank, however, said it has begun to see signs of improved performance in several areas relative to the declines in virtually all segments between April and October 2020 as customers and economies start looking beyond the pandemic.
Scotiabank said it continues to operate at an industry best productivity ratio of 45 per cent.
Total assets stood at $27.4 billion representing growth of $452 million or two per cent as compared to the same period last year.
“While loans to customers have declined over both the prior year and prior quarter as customers pay down their loans, new loans continue to steadily improve. Deposits from customers increased by $233 million or one per cent year over year driven by growth in both the corporate/commercial and retail segments,” it stated.
The bank said its insurance segment also continued to show growth with increased policy sales resulting in a $91 million or six per cent increase in policyholder liabilities over the prior year.
Baganarol reaffirmed Scotiabank’s commitment to investing in and growing its operations here in Trinidad and Tobago.
This he said was evidenced by the bank’s expanded ATM footprint in the first quarter, enabling customers to bank more conveniently 24/7 closer to their homes, broadened its digital channels and made progress in key customer service areas.
“As we look to the remainder of 2021, we will continue to keep our customers at the forefront of all that we do and remain cautiously optimistic that better times lie ahead. Please continue to be safe and protect your families,” Bagnarol said.
