Riga, Latvia, 2013-11-20 07:55 CET (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Q3 2013 was successful for ABLV Bank, AS and the group. The business volume and all major performance indicators continued to grow. Over 9 months of 2013, the group’s profit amounted to LVL 27.7 million (EUR 39.4 million), whereas profit of ABLV Bank, AS reached LVL 25.5 million (EUR 36.3 million).
ABLV Group maintained growth in all lines of its business.
- The bank’s operating income for 9 months of 2013 before allowances for credit losses amounted to LVL 61.0 million (EUR 86.8 million).
- During 9 months of 2013, the amount of deposits with the bank has grown by 4.2%, reaching LVL 1.95 billion (EUR 2.77 billion).
- As at 30 September 2013, the amount of the bank’s assets equalled LVL 2.35 billion (EUR 3.35 billion).
- The bank’s loan portfolio amounts to LVL 515.0 million, and the amount of commercial loans has increased to reach LVL 196.8 million (EUR 280.0 million).
- The bank’s capital and reserves amounted to LVL 126.3 million (EUR 179.7 million) (as at 31 December 2012 – LVL 106.8 million (EUR 152.0 million)).
- As at 30 September 2013, the bank’s capital adequacy ratio was 13.77%, whereas liquidity equalled 79.07%.
- ROE reached 29.67%, and ROA – 1.50%.
In Q3, we continued gradually substituting long-term deposits with investments in bonds by performing more issues of ABLV Bank, AS bonds. Till present, we have already performed 18 public bond issues in total, and currently the investors own ABLV Bank, AS, bonds worth EUR 380 million.
On the 30th of September, extraordinary general meeting of ABLV Bank, AS, shareholders was held, at which the full amount of bank’s profit for the first half of 2013 was decided to be retained and included in the bank’s Tier 1 equity capital. The bank’s profit in H1 this year amounted to LVL 15.2 million (EUR 21.6 million).
In September, our subsidiary bank in Luxembourg, ABLV Bank Luxembourg, S.A., started active operations, offering fiduciary deposits, advisory investment management, and other services to customers.
In July 2013, network of ABLV Group representative offices was expanded by one more – that in Vladivostok. This is already the fourth ABLV Group representative office in Russia (the other three are located in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg) and eleventh in total.
The bank continued investing available funds in securities. The total amount of the securities portfolio was equal to LVL 997.6 million (EUR 1.42 billion), as at 30 September 2013. The bank’s securities portfolio is mostly composed of fixed-income debt securities. Securities having credit rating AA- and higher constitute 72.0% of the total securities portfolio. In terms of the countries, investments are allocated as follows: USA – 30.3%, Russia – 14.5%, Germany – 11.5%, Canada – 11.2%, Sweden – 6.4%, Latvia – 6.3%, Netherlands – 4.0%, and Norway – 2.0%. Whereas 5.7% is constituted by securities issued by international institutions – the European Commission, EBRD, etc. In the reporting period, annual yield of the securities portfolio amounted to 1.8%.
Due to constant expansion of ABLV Bank and affiliate companies’ business, as well as respective staff increase, the decision on moving part of the bank’s structural units to new business centre Jupiter Centre, at 7 Skanstes Street, was taken. Now the bank has two administrative buildings in Riga – at 23 Elizabetes Street and 7 Skanstes Street.
Our open-end mutual funds continue demonstrating good results, and their yield is one of the highest on the market. Total asset value of eight open-end mutual funds managed by ABLV Asset Management, IPAS, exceeded EUR 88 million as at the end of September.
Whereas due to contribution of private investment fund ABLV Private Equity Fund 2010, KS, Orto clinic was opened in Riga on 9 August 2013; this is the first newly built private traumatology and orthopedics centre in Latvia. The total project costs were about LVL 3.5 million (EUR 4.98 million), where LVL 2.7 million (EUR 3.84 million) were spent on the building construction, and LVL 0.8 million (EUR 1.14 million) – on acquiring medical and other necessary equipment. The project financing was ensured by ABLV Private Equity Fund 2010, KS investments in SIA Orto kl?nika share capital and by bank loan.
Other companies of ABLV Group also continued to grow. Alongside the upswing in real estate market, the sales of real estate development and trading group Pillar significantly increased as well. The company sold properties for the total amount of EUR 24.8 million over nine months of this year. Whereas during the whole 2012, Pillar sold properties for EUR 15.7 million. Currently, Pillar supervises more than 1400 properties worth about EUR 84.9 million.
On 17 September 2013, the bank celebrated 20-year anniversary of starting its operations. Celebrating this, there was bronze bull sculpture placed in the territory of future financial and business centre New Hanza City in Riga. The sculpture motto is Labor Omnia Vincit (Work conquers all), and it stands for the power of work, determination, self-belief, and confidence about the chosen path. The sculpture was created by famous artist G?ebs Pante?ejevs.
On the 20th of September, there was exhibition in Riga Art Space opened, at which collection composed by ABLV Bank for future Contemporary Art Museum was presented. Currently, the collection includes 204 works by 31 artists. At the exhibition "...for an occurrence to become an adventure…" works of all those artists were presented. The exhibition aroused great public interest, and there were more than 5600 visitors in total. We have also issued art album “No Walls”, in which works acquired so far are included, and made interactive educational game for schoolchildren.
At the end of August, the bank’s traditional golf tournament, ABLV Invitation Golf Tournament 2013, took place in Ozo Golf Club. There were 93 golfers participating in the tournament – they were our customers from Latvia and abroad, cooperation partners, bank’s officers, and also prospective customers of the bank.
ABLV Bank, AS is the largest independent private bank in Latvia. The bank’s majority shareholders — O?egs Fi?s, Ernests Bernis and Nika Berne – directly and indirectly hold 86% of the bank's share capital. ABLV Group includes ABLV Bank, AS; ABLV Bank Luxembourg, S.A.; ABLV Capital Markets, IBAS; ABLV Asset Management, IPAS; Pillar Holding Company, KS; ABLV Consulting Services, AS; ABLV Corporate Services, SIA; New Hanza City, SIA, and other companies. ABLV Group has representative offices in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Vladivostok, Kiev, Odessa, Minsk, Almaty, Dushanbe, Baku, and Tashkent.
Ilm?rs Jargans Head of Public Relations Department ABLV Bank, AS Tel.: +371 6777 5296 e-mail: ilmars.jargans@ablv.com
