Dec 2014 Financial News

First Citizens profits increase to $772.6m

Dec 10, 2014

Despite a tumultuous year starting with the firing of its chief risk officer Philip Rahaman, followed by the resignation of its chief executive Larry Nath and a change of its board of directors, State bank First Citizens yesterday announced that its profits increased by 3.7 per cent to $772.6 million for financial year 2014.

Furthermore, the headline-grabbing year hasn’t slowed down the demand for loans at the bank as it announced that it had issued $3.3 billion in new loans.

The company, which trades on the Trinidad and Tobago Stock Exchange (TTSE), will pay a final dividend of 61 cents a share later this month for a total dividend of $1.18 per share for stockholders in 2014.

The results were announced by the bank’s chief financial officer Shiva Manraj at a press conference at First Citizens’ head office around the Queen’s Park Savannah, Port of Spain.

The company’s data are as follows:
1. Profit before tax — $772.6 million for 2014, an increase from $744.8 million in 2013.
2. Profit after tax — $626.6 million for 2014, an increase of $609.1 million from 2013.
3. Total assets — $34.9 billion, a 3.3 per cent decrease from $36.1 billion in 2013.
4. Deposits and other funding — $25.7 billion in 2014
5. Capital Adequacy Ratio — 54.71 per cent.

In the face of the positive news, executive chairman of First Citizens Anthony Smart said his board had a better working relationship with senior management.

His statement was in response to questions from reporters after the Central Bank’s preliminary report into the bank’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) was published in the Express on Tuesday.

Smart would not comment on the findings, which found that the company did not maintain a share register; did not disclose Rahaman’s transaction in a timely manner to the TTSE board; and did not conform to the bank’s Insider Trading Policy.

Instead, he defended two bank officers—deputy CEO Sharon Christopher and head of Legal and Compliance Lindi Ballah-Tull.

Smart said when the new board came into office in June, it did a thorough assessment of what had transpired internally during the IPO and he was confident with the officers’ abilities to carry out their duties.

He did not comment on Nath’s recent exit, saying that employee information was kept confidential by the bank.
Asked why the deputy chief executive (Christopher) was not appointed to the post, Smart did not directly answer the question, but simply replied that the board took a decision to appoint him as executive chairman until the chief executive is selected.

Christopher said yesterday she’d given her assurance to Smart to help him during the transition.
In an e-mail sent on Smart’s behalf to First Citizens staffers yesterday, the executive chairman acknowledged that concerns have been expressed with regard to issues being raised in the media about Christopher and Ballah-Tull and their roles in the IPO.

He stated that the previous board produced a report in which certain allegations were made against these staff members, but the new board carried out a thorough assessment of these matters, as a result of which “we have come to the conclusion that there is no valid reason to question the professionalism of Ms Christopher and Mrs Ballah-Tull relating to the performance of their duties.  The board therefore continues to have full confidence in Ms Christopher and Mrs Ballah-Tull to serve the bank in the best interest of all our stakeholders”.

Smart said with regard to Christopher not being interested in applying for the job of Group CEO, “she explained that her planned retirement in accordance with bank’s HR policy will take place in 2016 and therefore the best interests of all stakeholders will be served by the recruitment of a new Group chief executive officer”.

Source:
By Asha Javeed asha.javeed@trinidadexpress.com
Trinidad Express
Wednesday December 10, 2014

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/First-Citizens-profits--increase-to-7726m-285320621.html