The Board of Directors of MCB Bank Limited (MCB) in its meeting under the Chairmanship of Mian Mohammad Mansha, on February 10, 2022, reviewed the performance of the Bank and approved the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021. The Board of Directors has declared final cash dividend of Rs. 5.0 per share i.e. 50pc bringing the total cash dividend for the year ended 2021 to 190pc, continuing with its highest dividend per share trend in banking sector. MCB’s Profit After Tax (PAT) for the year ended December 31, 2021, posted a growth of 6pc to reach Rs. 30.81 billion; translating into Earning Per Share (EPS) of Rs. 26.00 compared to EPS of Rs. 24.50 reported in last year. Average Policy rate registered a decline of 19pc (166bps) from an average of 8.95pc in last year to 7.29pc in current year. However, on account of strategically aligned growth in average current deposits and a balanced mix of earning assets, net interest income of the Bank decreased by only 10pc, from Rs. 71.33 billion to Rs. 63.99 billion. Non-markup income registered a growth of 11pc and aggregated to Rs. 20.1 billion against Rs. 18.1 billion in last year. Improved transactional volumes, surge in business activities, diversification of revenue streams through continuous enrichment of Bank’s product suite, investments towards digital transformation and an unrelenting focus on upholding the high service standards supplemented a growth of 14pc in fee income whereas dividend and foreign exchange incomes increased by 86pc & 48pc respectively. The Bank continues to prudently manage its operating expenses with a moderate increase of 8pc, despite sustained inflationary pressures amid currency devaluation and rising commodity prices, higher compliance related regulatory charges, expansion in branch outreach and regular performance and merit adjustments of the Human Capital. On the provision front, proactive monitoring and recovery efforts led to a net reversal of Rs. 910 million in specific provision maintained against non-performing loans (NPLs) while the general loss reserve of Rs. 4 billion created amid the uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak was reversed, as the systematic risks surrounding the economic recovery have receded and the Bank has created specific provision against exposures that reflected signs of financial distress. Persistent focus on maintaining a robust risk management framework encompassing structured assessment models, effective pre-disbursement evaluation tools and an array of post disbursement monitoring systems has enabled MCB to effectively manage its credit risk. The Non-performing loan (NPLs) base of the Bank recorded a decrease of Rs. 698 million and was reported at Rs. 50.49 billion. The Bank has not taken FSV benefit in calculation of specific provision and carries an un-encumbered general provision reserve of Rs. 636 million. The coverage and infection ratios of the Bank were reported at 90.83pc and 7.94pc respectively. On the financial position side, the total asset base of the Bank, on an unconsolidated basis, was reported at Rs. 1,970 billion (+12pc). The gross advances of the Bank registered historic growth of Rs. 122 billion (+24pc), above the industry growth, to close the year at Rs. 636 billion. The corporate lending book grew by Rs. 106 billion (31pc) whereas the consumer loan portfolio garnered significant interest and increased by Rs. 9.5 billion (32pc) on the back of significant activity in the construction and auto segments. On the liabilities side, achieving growth in no-cost current account base remained a key strategic objective for the Bank. Thereby, non-remunerative deposits grew by 15.1pc to close at Rs. 563 billion; improving their mix in the total deposits to 40pc in absolute terms as at December 31, 2021. CASA mix was reported at 93pc whereas the total deposits of the Bank grew by 9pc to close out the year at Rs. 1,412 billion. Return on Assets and Return on Equity reported at 1.65pc and 19.11pc respectively, whereas the book value per share was reported at Rs. 135.13. During the year MCB attracted home remittance inflows of USD 3.527 billion to further consolidate its position as an active participant in SBP’s cause for improving flow of remittances into the country through banking channels. The inflow by MCB till Dec 31, 2021 under the Roshan Digital Account (RDA) initiative has stood at USD 216 million. While complying with the regulatory capital requirements, the Bank’s total Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) is 17.01pc against the requirement of 11.5pc (including capital conservation buffer of 1.50pc as reduced under the BPRD Circular Letter No. 12 of 2020). Quality of the capital is evident from Bank’s Common Equity Tier-1 (CET1) to total risk weighted assets ratio which comes to 15.08pc against the requirement of 6pc. Bank’s capitalization also resulted in a Leverage Ratio of 6.13pc which is well above the regulatory limit of 3.0pc. The Bank reported Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) of 246.31pc and Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) of 155.00pc against requirement of 100pc. The Bank’s exceptional performance has also been recognized by the globally coveted Finance Asia’s Country Awards wherein it has been declared as the “Best Bank in Pakistan” in 2021. The Bank enjoys highest local credit ratings of AAA / A1+ categories for long term and short term respectively, based on PACRA notification dated June 23, 2021. The Bank on consolidated basis is operating the 2nd largest network of more than 1,600 branches in Pakistan. The Bank remains one of the prime stocks traded in the Pakistani equity market with 2nd highest market capitalization in the industry.