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Bangkok Bank (BBL)
Tisco Securities has reiterated its "buy" rating for Bangkok Bank shares, with a 12-month target price of Bt122 apiece.
Although Bangkok Bank's first-quarter loan growth was slower than the industry average, the bank is well-positioned to benefit from the anticipated rebound in the economy in the second half of the year, owing to its ample liquidity and strong capital base with a capital-adequacy ratio of 14 per cent.However, some sacrifice in terms of small and medium-sized enterprise loan yield will be seen as the bank moves to secure its customer base against a backdrop of strong competition from other banks. Bangkok Bank reported a first-quarter in-line net profit of Bt4.6 billion. Its net profit fell year on year, due to an absence of investment gains and a 17-basis point year-on-year decline in its net-interest margin (NIM). Preprovision operating profit fell slightly by 3.5 per cent year on year, due to the narrowing of its NIM and higher operating expenses. Additional loan-loss provisioning was flat year on year but fell quarter on quarter, because it booked special provisions against the IAS39 standard in last year's fourth quarter. Loan growth was flat.
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