Most thai banks have a better 2009

The earnings of Siam Commercial Bank and Kasikornbank fell by 2.8 per cent and minus 3 per cent, respectively, while those of their competitors were higher than the previous year.

Krung Thai Bank's full-year profit also declined 2.4 per cent from a year earlier because of lower net interest income amid the economic slowdown. Net income was Bt12 billion compared with Bt12.3 billion in 2008. The bank s net interest income fell 7.2 per cent to Bt42.5 billion, while its non-interest income climbed 23 per cent to Bt13.8 billion.

Bank results

                  2009        2008       %ch

(Bt mn)

Source: The Stock Exchange of Thailand

The most impressive performance belonged to TMB Bank. Its 2009 earnings of Bt2 billion represented a 382-per-cent increase from Bt423 million in the previous year.

Thanachart Capital's earnings rose 84 per cent year on year to Bt5.1 billion. Thanachart Bank, a key unit of the holding group, showed a net profit of Bt4.056 billion, up 117 per cent from the previous year.

Its assets rose 14 per cent to Bt433 billion, making it the seventh-largest commercial bank, up one place from 2008.

"The good performance of the bank is a result of efficiency from working as a team under the financial group of Thanachart, including commercial-banking business, securities business, asset-management business, life and non-life insurance, and good cooperation with our business partner, Canada's Nova Scotia Bank," said Supadet Poonpipat, chief executive officer of Thanachart Capital.

The bank's return on equity and return on assets were 17.1 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively.

He said that in 2010, Thanachart Capital would use Thanachart Bank as its core business with a focus on auto hire purchase, as the bank is a leader in this business and is determined to maintain its market share of 20 per cent.

The bank plans to expand its car-for-cash loans, besides which it will increase the portion of its corporate, small business and personal loans.

Regarding the plan to acquire Siam City Bank, Supadet said the matter was undergoing due diligence, which should be completed this quarter.

Meanwhile, Siam City Bank yesterday set its loan-growth target at 6 per cent, or Bt18 billion, on assumption that the economy will expand 3-3.5 per cent this year.

It also plans to sell Bt7 billion-Bt10 billion of non-performing loans this year, which would lower the NPLs-to-outstanding-loans ratio by 2 percentage points from 7.8 per cent at end-2009.

Reporting banks' NPLs ranged from 2.26 to 11.91 per cent of outstanding lending at the end of last year.