Sabga at ANSA Merchant Group AGM: 'Bank performed admirably'

ANSA Merchant Bank (AMBL) Chairman Anthony Norman Sabga says the company performed "admirably" in 2020, in spite of challenges posed by the covid19 pandemic.

Sabga addressed shareholders last week when AMBL held its annual general meeting (AGM), saying the group has not been daunted by the challenges faced in 2020.

Managing director Gregory Hill presented the results of the AMBL Group (ANSA Merchant Bank, Tatil, Tatil Life and Consolidated Finance in Barbados), which reported a profit before tax of $205 million on total operating income of $904 million in 2020.

This represented a 43 per cent reduction on the prior year which Hill said was directly due to the effects of the global pandemic on international and regional investment markets, "causing adverse non-cash mark to market negative valuations in the results by $163 million."

Hill stressed that much of the negative investment impact was reversed in the first quarter of 2021 with a positive gain of $132 million. Overall, the group's first quarter results are up $110 million or 227 per cent when compared to the same period last year.

Noting a ten-year growth in the AMCL Group's profitability, Hill expressed confidence in the sustainability of its financial performance and the soundness of its capital base. He said this consistency should give shareholders, clients and regulators comfort in the resilience and stability of the group through all the possible economic cycles.

Sabga told shareholders that the group has not been daunted by the economic challenges posed last year. In fact, he spoke of a number of its recent accomplishments, including the acquisition of Bank of Baroda (Trinidad & Tobago) Ltd, allowing it to compete in the commercial banking landscape for the first time. The brand was renamed ANSA Bank Ltd and launched in April 2021. The company says it has plans to modernise traditional banking by implementing digital banking.

Also of note, in Barbados, Tatil acquired the local company Trident Insurance and integrated Trident with its local branch, Brydens, essentially doubling Tatil’s insurance coverage in Barbados.

Sabga noted that during the year, the AMBL Group continued to accelerate investments in all areas of its operations, particularly in information technology.

He said the Group expects to see tangible improvements in customer service in the coming years as a result.

Tatil and Tatil Life also began replacement of their core insurance "legacy" systems.

At the end of 2020, total assets were valued at $8 billion, whilst the total equity of the Bank Group grew to $2.68 billion in 2020, a six per cent increase over the previous year.