Africa-Press – Cape verde. The Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU) in Macau today announced profits of 163.2 million patacas (18.8 million euros) in the first quarter of the year, a year-on-year increase of 45.2%, mainly thanks to the rise in interest rates.
The increase in profits was “supported by a 7.1% increase in net interest income, totaling 17.5 million patacas [2.02 million euros], (…) mainly due to the increase in interest rates”, indicated the bank, in a statement.
The Macau Monetary Authority approved three increases in the main reference interest rate last year, the last of which was an increase of 0.25 percentage points, introduced in May, following the North American Federal Reserve.
BNU also said that profits from financial operations increased by 17.8 million patacas (2.05 million euros), mainly “due to the absence of a single loss resulting from the sale of financial investments” in the first quarter of 2023.
The bank also indicated that it suffered losses of 1.3 million patacas (around 150 thousand euros) with non-performing loans and financial investments between January and March, 92.9% less than in the same period of 2023.
Still, BNU assured that it “remains committed to monitoring credit quality and providing adequate protections for potential losses, as necessary, in order to maintain the stability of its financial position”.
At the end of March, Macau’s banks had accumulated overdue loans worth 45.4 billion patacas (5.25 billion euros), a historic maximum and 111.3% more than in the same month last year..
BNU stated that it maintains “a robust solvency ratio of 23.9% (…), well above the minimum regulatory requirement of 8%”, as well as “adequate liquidity levels”, and ensures that it is prepared “to face the challenges of current economic environment.”
Macau’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 80.5% in 2023, after two consecutive years of decline, following the end of the restriction policy imposed by the covid-19 pandemic and the resumption of tourism.
Even so, the Statistics and Census Bureau highlighted that the economy of the Chinese special administrative region still only represents around 80% of the levels recorded before the pandemic.
BNU said that operating expenses grew by 6.3 million patacas (around 727 thousand euros), compared to the first quarter of 2023, mainly due to “increased spending on digitalization”, personnel and advertising.
The bank had reported profits of 587.3 million patacas (around 68 million euros) last year, an increase of 82.4%.
BNU is headquartered in Macau and belongs to the Caixa Geral de Depósitos Group (CGD), being, together with the Bank of China, the currency issuing bank in the special administrative region of China.
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