Cargills Bank posts resilient 2021 performance with strong portfolio growth
Cargills Bank released its Annual Report for 2021, highlighting resilient performance during the financial year on account of strong portfolio growth and improved asset quality, amidst a challenging operational environment.
The Bank’s deposit portfolio grew by 26% to LKR 40.2 billion, while loans and advances increased by a healthy 39% during the year under review to LKR 40.5 billion. Total Assets increased by 20% to LKR 55.8 billion, while Total Operating Income rose 22% YoY to LKR 2.5 Billion on account of a strong core and fee-based income growth.
Ranjit Page, Chairman of Cargills Bank, stated, “True to the tagline of “Banking on the Human Spirit”, the Bank achieved growth across all key parameters, carefully navigating the challenges in the environment.”
“The management implemented several initiatives to steer the performance of the Bank, improve operating efficiencies, utilize technology to optimize our channels and processes, enhance internal controls, and strictly manage recoveries, thereby ensuring the Bank emerged stronger than in the previous year. Cargills Bank, with its unique model and Vision to become ‘The Most Inclusive Bank’ and empower the hitherto excluded, is well poised to contribute to Sri Lanka’s economic revival.”
Attributing the turnaround in the Bank’s performance to the unified effort of the team, Senarath Bandara, Managing Director / CEO of Cargills Bank stated, “We continued to bank on the “Spirit of Community” to navigate these challenging times successfully, and the Bank was able to deliver substantial double-digit growth in its loan book as well as its deposits, achieving a significant reduction in losses. The Bank was able to grow its retail portfolio year-on-year and much of this growth came from small to medium ticket loans. Continued growth in our Retail portfolio not only improved the stability of our loan book but also supported the interest margins.”
“The Bank’s SME and Business Banking portfolios also reported strong growth during the year, which facilitated fee income streams throughout the calendar year.”
Cargills Bank has grown to serve over 175,000 customers through 500+ touch points and 21 branches, supported by a growing family of 600+ employees. In 2021, Fitch Ratings Lanka revised Cargills Bank’s parent-supported Issuer Rating to AA-(lka) with a Stable Outlook.
To support its wider customer acquisition strategy, the Bank introduced two new customer channels in 2021, launching Cargills Bank MINI Service Points at selected Cargills Food City outlets to augment its branch network, and introducing digital non-face-to-face customer onboarding, allowing for KYC protocols for new customers to be completed online.
The Bank also reported a significant growth in digital payments through its digital banking channel, as well as through aggregator fintech partners that operate their third-party payment applications.