Bank Rakyat Announces 15 Pct Dividend Payment For 2016

KUALA LUMPUR, May 5 (Bernama) -- Bank Kerjasama Rakyat Malaysia Bhd (Bank Rakyat) has announced a cash dividend payment of 15 per cent, involving a payout of RM450 million (about US$103.7 million) for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2016, compared to 13 per cent in 2015. The bank registered a profit before tax and zakat of RM1.74 billion against RM2.01 billion in 2015. Bank Rakyat Chairman, Shukry Mohd Salleh said the dividend payment was based on higher revenue of RM6.66 billion recorded last year, compared to RM6.43 billion achieved in 2015. "Despite the challenging environment, the bank’s income has increased, driven by financing and treasury activities," he told reporters at the announcement of the bank's financial results here, Friday. Also present was Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Hamzah Zainudin. Shukry said income from financing totalling RM6.43 billion remained the biggest contributor to the bank’s profit. “The increase in income from financing was due to the positive growth in retail loans, especially in the personal loans segment,” he said. He said the bank’s gross financing balance recorded an increase of 7.32 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) or RM4.72 billion to RM69.18 billion, with personal financing growth being the main contributor. “ Consumer loans increased by RM4.83 billion to RM64.42 billion from RM59.58 billion previously,” he said, adding that deposits increased 9.75 per cent or RM6.92 billion to RM77.9 billion compared to RM70.98 billion in 2015. The bank's total assets grew by 7.38 per cent y-o-y to RM99.22 billion, compared to RM92.4 billion recorded in 2015, in line with the industry and driven by aggressive loan disbursement. “Overall, Bank Rakyat has successfully maintained its position as the second biggest Islamic financial institution in Malaysia, in terms of asset size,” he said. For 2017, he said the bank had targeted a 6.5 per cent growth in financing, driven by demand for personal loans. Meanwhile, Hamzah said Bank Rakyat had contributed a total of RM51.01 million from its profit before tax and zakat, with RM34.01 million going to the Cooperative Societies Education Trust Fund and RM17 million to the Cooperative Development Provident Fund. Bank Rakyat has a total of 950,000 members, with a paid-up capital totalling RM3 billion. (US$1 = RM4.33) -- BERNAMA