MCB Bank is one of the oldest banks of Pakistan. It was incorporated in 1947 and later nationalized in 1974. Its shares are listed on all the three stock exchanges of the country, while its GDRs (representing two ordinary equity shares) are traded on the International Order Book (IOB) system of the London Stock Exchange.
MCB has a customer base of over 4 million with 1,023 branches including 8 Islamic banking branches inside Pakistan and 7 outside Pakistan. During the first half of 2008, the Malaysian Bank Maybank acquired 94,241,527 shares representing 15% stake in MCB through the Maybank International Trust (Labuan) Berhad.
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MCB BANK LIMITED& SUBSIDIARY COMPANIES
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For the Half year ended June 30, 2008
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Note ( Rupees '000) Half year ended Half year ended
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30-Jun-08 30-Jun-07
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Mark-up / return / interest earned 16,939,131 15,616,065
Mark-up / return / interest expensed 4,339,278 3,765,160
Net mark-up / interest income 12,599,853 11,850,905
1,452,118 1,162,487
Net mark-up / interest income after provisions 11,147,735 10,688,418
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Non mark-up / interest income
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Fee, commission and brokerage income 1,547,974 1,361,823
Gain on sale of securities - net 738,434 980,886
Total non mark-up / interest income 2,934,289 3,355,531
14,082,024 14,043,949
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Non-mark-up / interest expenses
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Administrative expenses 3,174,403 2,826,496
Other provisions / (reversal) - -9,452
Other charges 291,288 173,793
Total non mark-up/interest expenses 3,465,691 2,990,837
11,454,663 11,406,797
Profit before taxation 11,454,663 11,406,797
Taxation - current period 3,586,700 3,346,253
Share of tax of associated undertaking -30,711 36,853
2,941,071 3,477,319
Profit after taxation 8,513,592 7,929,478
Share of profit attributable to minority interest -5 -3
Profit attributable to ordinary shareholders 8,513,587 7,929,475
Earnings per share - basic and diluted - Rupees 13.55 12.62
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Net mark-up/interest income rose by 6% during the first half of 2008 as against the same period last year. In the period under review, profit after tax increased by 7% though these numbers are not as impressive as the preceding years they represent growth in a time of political turmoil in Pakistan and continued credit crunch in the international financial market. The interest expenses rose by 15% due to the fact that during the period 1H08 deposits rose by 20% this was coupled with higher deposit rates.
The State Bank imposed the regulation of a minimum of 5% deposit rate (less than one year savings account) with effect from 1st June. Lending to financial institutions increased 12 times during the period. This is because the demand for credit decreased both in the consumer market and the corporate sector. Balances with other banks also rose by 2.8 times. Both of these factors indicate that there was excess liquidity at MCB and demand from corporations and individuals dwindled at a very high rate.
In the first half of 2008 returns have fallen throughout the industry as compared to previous three years figures. MCB's return on assets was better than the corresponding industry number. Return on equity was also higher than the industry average. The return on deposits fell to 2.2% in the first half of 2008 because of an increase in depositors and slower growth in PAT due to higher NPLs and lower corporate demand for advances.
The industry's top five banks posted a total of PkR 29.8 billion in profits after tax during the first half of 2008. In the same period last year the top five banks reported a total of PkR 30.5 billion in PAT. This represents a decline of 2.3% and shows that major banks in the industry didn't do well in the first half. The main reasons for this decline are firstly the deteriorating macroeconomic condition of the country which led to tightening of monetary policy, discount rate at 13%, secondly volatile oil prices and worsening supply side situation made it difficult for banks to maintain growth in lending to the corporate sector. Additionally, the increase in funding costs also dragged down the growth in the sector. Provisioning against NPLs was a major factor contributing to the decline in earnings.
The net profit margin of MCB was the highest for the 1st half of 2008 amongst the top five banks. MCB's PAT increased by 7% because administrative expenses were reduced by 12% during the first half of 2008 in comparison with the expenses figure in the same period last year. The non-performing loans have increased to Rs 11.9 billion at 30th June 08. This is an increase of Rs 1.3 billion since 31st December 2007. The composition of deposits has remained almost the same with small changes. Savings deposits continue to be the biggest contributor towards the deposits. The savings deposits have increased in 1H08 as against the corresponding period last year by 24%. Overall deposits increased by around 17% in the first half of this year as compared with the same period last year.
Total assets value at 30th June 2008 was 9.75% higher than the figure at 31st December 2007. The main increase came in the balances with treasury banks and advances categories, 53.8% and 4.6% respectively. In the earning assets lending to financial institutions increased by almost 13 folds and investments fell by around 12% in the first half of 2008. Advance to deposit rate fell by 6.24% due to lower growth rate in advances against the higher growth in deposits. Advances grew by 4.5% whereas deposits increased by 20% at the end of the first half of 2008 when compared against the 31st December 2007 figures. The trend of debt to equity ratio explains that throughout the past 5 years MCB has consistently shifted its funding of assets from liabilities to equity. This is in line with the MCR requirements of the SBP that the whole industry has to follow.
The NPLs to advances ratio has shown an upward trend in the recent past and continues to rise this year as well because of higher default rates in the textile sector and consumer financing. Although MCB and other big players of the industry have applied stringent rules on further lending but these losses continue to rise. NPLs rose by 11.7% at the end of the first half 2008 when compared against the final balance sheet figure of last year. As compared to the industry, MCB had been quite prudent in lending, so the level of NPLs was not as alarming. However, the worsening macroeconomic situation coupled with inflationary pressures are putting the pressure on the borrowers' re-payment capability.
MCB's income to expense ratio is one of the best in the industry because MCB has been able to mask its rising administrative expenditure as the bank has booked huge gains in the pension plan assets. Cost of funding earning assets has increased over the years. Interest expenses increased by 15.2% in first half of 08 as against the corresponding period's figure of last year. Although, the MCB enjoys the advantage of being a low-cost funder, in the coming times, the cost of funding is bound to increase further. The earning assets increased by 7.2% in the current year's first half as against the figure of the corresponding period last year. The ADR has dropped in line with the industry trend.
Future outlookThe near future may not be the best times for the banking industry though the next couple of years promise to be very challenging for the big five in Pakistan as a lot of new markets and products are being introduced in Pakistan. As MCB is one of the big five banks it is expected to play a major role in pioneering these newer markets. We expect to see mergers and takeovers in the industry because of the minimum capital requirement of PkR 6 billion, by the end of FY09, set by State Bank of Pakistan. Secondly because the auto loan and personal loan business suffered such heavy losses banks are looking for new avenues to generate income.
Up-till now MCB has not been able to come up with different products in retail banking, branch banking, bancassurance, and mortgage. With the presence of large foreign banks like Citibank and Standard Chartered one finds it convenient to believe that MCB faces tough competition in consumer banking from these worldwide giants. MCB's NIM (net interest margin) is one of the highest in the industry. Interest income is the major source of income for MCB. MCB has high spreads and even though banks have to give a minimum of 5% deposit rate we expect MCB and others to shift this rise to borrowers by hiking lending rates. This can hamper the growth of advances though interest income is not expected to fall.
Recently GoP announced plans of transferring its deposits from different banks to SBP to get rid of the huge debt of over half a trillion, although this doesn't have a direct impact on MCB but it could have affected the economic and business cycle and hurt big banks like MCB as many banks with which it transacts would have faced bankruptcy. MCB and other banks face tough competition from 3, 6, and 12 months papers issued by the GoP at a high rate to attract depositors; secondly GoP has also increased the rate on national savings scheme by 2%. Moreover MCB also faces increased competition from mutual funds as the growth in mutual funds is phenomenal.
Moreover there is huge potential for further growth in the mutual fund market as AUMs (assets under management) were only 11% of the bank deposits during FY07. This means that MCB along with other banks faces tough times in the near future. On the positive side the Maybank stake of around 20% gives MCB strategic advantage in the country over other large local banks in terms of newer products and technologies. It is expected that MCB will come up with newer products and better technological advancements to serve its customers interest in the best possible way.
COURTESY: Economics and Finance Department, Institute of Business Administration, Karachi, prepared this analytical report for
Business Recorder.DISCLAIMER: No reliance should be placed on the [above information] by any one for making any financial, investment and business decision. The [above information] is general in nature and has not been prepared for any specific decision making process. [The newspaper] has not independently verified all of the [above information] and has relied on sources that have been deemed reliable in the past. Accordingly, the newspaper or any its staff or sources of information do not bear any liability or responsibility of any consequences for decisions or actions based on the [above information].