Sterling Bank Plc, yesterday reported a net interest income growth of 19.1 per cent to N30.4 billion for the half year ended June 30, 2019 as against N25.5 billion in the corresponding period of 2018.
Overall, the bank recorded a 5.5 per cent improvement in operating income and a profit after tax of N5.66 billion.
Commenting on the financial performance, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman, chief executive officer of Sterling Bank said, “Underlying our half year performance was a concerted effort in improving the quality of our funding base, increasingly through digital products and initiatives. Though top line earnings were impacted by a selective approach to lending, the bank remained focused on building a sustainable business model and continued to see considerable improvement across business lines, particularly our retail and consumer and digital and transactional banking businesses.”
Other financial highlights showed that customer deposits also grew to N818.6 billion during the period under review compared to N760.6 billion in 2018, indicating a growth of 7.6 per cent. Total assets grew by 4.8 percent to N1.156 billion as against N1.102 billion in 2018, while net operating income also rose by 4.2 percent to N40.4 billion compared with N38.8 per cent in 2018.