KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 26 (NNN-BERNAMA) — Public Bank Bhd’s net profit saw a slight ease to RM5.51 billion for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2019 (FY19) from RM5.59 billion recorded in the previous year.
Revenue, however, rose to RM22.45 billion from RM22.04 billion previously.
In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, founder and chairman emeritus Tan Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow said 2019 was a year with strong headwinds and increased challenges as economic growth across developed and emerging countries had further moderated.
“The reduction in the overnight policy rate (OPR) in May 2019 had placed further pressure on net interest margins which affected profitability of the domestic banking sector for the year.
“However, the Public Bank Group was still able to sustain stable profitability in FY19 through an above industry growth in financing and deposit-taking businesses, a commendable growth of 8.4 per cent in non-interest income and the strong asset quality,” he said.
