FCIB profit up but

First Caribbean International Bank’s profit rose in the first quarter ending in February, but this was mainly due to reduction in loans loss provisioning than an improvement in revenues. Loans declined and so did interest earned on loans.
Loans fell to US$5.996 billion down from $6.28 billion in January 2014 and $6.14 billion at the end of October last year. The bank, operating across the Caribbean region, reported interest income of US$108.7 million for the latest quarter. In 2014, interest income was $116.6 million. Other operating income of $41.8 million was earned in 2015 versus $42.5 million in 2014. The bank enjoyed a better loan loss experience with a charge of $15.7 million, in the latest quarter compared to $30.6 million in 2014. Operating expenses declined to $85 million from $89 in 2014. The bank profit after tax amounted to $26.6 million versus $15.4 million for 2014.
The bank needs to increase quality loans if it is to have enjoy sustainable growth going forward, this is a difficult challenge for a bank operating across an economically distressed region. At a price of TT$5.03 the stocks trades around 10 times current year’s earnings and that is lower than the other banking stocks on the Trinidad Stock Exchange.