Republic profits down 37% owing to covid19

Republic Financial Holdings Ltd recorded a $774 million profit for the nine-month period ended June 30, a decline of $458 million or 37.2 per cent below the corresponding period last year.

In a release Wednesday, the company, which is the largest indigenous financial institution in the Caribbean, said the results reflect the financial impact, so far, of the covid19 pandemic on the group. Among the biggest impacts on the performance were decreased economic activity, narrower margins due to reduced lending interest rates, waivers of fees and commissions, and setting aside additional credit provisions to cover potential future losses.

"The ongoing uncertainty surrounding the current and potential impacts of the covid19 pandemic demands that the group continues to exercise prudence as we navigate the way forward in the best interest of all our stakeholders," the company said.

In announcing the results, chairman Vincent Pereira noted that total assets stood at $105.3 billion at June 30, an increase of $19.9 billion or 23.2 per cent over the total assets the previous year. This increase was, in the main, due to the acquisition of Scotiabank’s banking operations in St Maarten and the Eastern Caribbean (Anguilla, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines), last November, which added $12.7 billion to the company's assets, as well as the acquisition of Scotiabank’s operations in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) on June 1, which added a further $ 3.1 billion.

“We remain committed to our clients during this difficult time. In addition to the measures already instituted, we are working closely with all our business clients to identify appropriate financing structures to facilitate the continued success of their respective businesses and with our retail clients to agree suitable loan repayment structures," Pereira said.