GEISHA ALONZO
geisha.kowlessar@guardian.co.tt
Scotiabank T&T Limited yesterday reported income after tax of $644 million for the year ended October 31, 2018, a decrease of $13 million or two per cent compared to the corresponding period in 2017.
This reduction in profitability was driven by the increased corporate tax rate levied on commercial banks—from 30 to 35 per cent—combined with higher levels of loan loss provisioning.
However, Managing Director Stephen Bagnarol said the bank continues to highlight its financial strength with return on equity of 16.05 per cent and return on assets of 2.69 per cent.
Based on this performance, the board of directors has approved an annual dividend of $1.50 per ordinary share for the quarter. This final quarter dividend is payable on January 14, 2019,
In commenting on the results, Bagnarol said: “I am pleased to report that Scotiabank has once again delivered another year of good financial results. Despite challenging market and economic conditions, our net profit before taxation closed at $963 million, which is $29 million, or 3 per cent higher than the previous year.
“Strong profitability year-on-year is testament to the confidence that our customers have placed in us, as well as the hard work and dedication from our team. Over the past year, in addition to our digital transformation initiatives, we reinforced our commitment to compliance, anti-money laundering and cybersecurity measures to protect the bank’s and our customers’ information.”
Bagnarol said the safety and security of customers’ accounts and information is a top priority at Scotiabank, as the bank takes this responsibility very seriously.
“We have recently launched alerts, a feature which will help our customers monitor fraudulent activity in real time and then allow us to take immediate action.
“I urge you to enable alerts when you log on to online banking. As we approached our new fiscal year, we were very excited to launch our latest product called ‘Club S’ which is another example of us helping our customers become better off.”
Club S membership allows customers, both banking and lifestyle benefits through merchant offerings.
“It is an excellent initiative to solidify our strong relationship with our customers and membership is free,” Bagnarol added.
Recently, Republic Financial Holding Limited announced that it is acquiring Scotiabank operations in Guyana, St. Maarten and the Eastern Caribbean territories, including Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Scotiabank TT Ltd and Sagicor Financial Corporation Ltd announced a 20-year distribution deal in which insurance products and solutions, underwritten by Sagicor, will be offered to Scotiabank customers in Trinidad and Tobago.
Scotiabank TT has agreed to sell its insurance subsidiary: ScotiaLife TT Ltd to Sagicor.
These recent developments have not affected this year’s profits.