Even though the National Bank is experiencing strong growth in Cambodia, it does not intend to make any other acquisitions abroad for the moment, affirms Laurent Ferreira, the new president and chief executive officer.
“It is not a priority to invest outside of the assets that we already have. For the time being, there is no intention to invest internationally. “Mr. Ferreira, who replaced Louis Vachon at the beginning of November, presented for the first time, Wednesday, the quarterly results of the Montreal financial institution as CEO. He was notably questioned on the interest of carrying out international acquisitions, where the growth potential could be greater than in Canada.
National Bank is already present in South-East Asia through its subsidiary ABA Bank, of which it has been a shareholder since 2014 and of which it has been the sole shareholder since 2019.
La Nationale estimates that ABA Bank could grow at a rate of more than 10% next year.
Rather than making acquisitions, Mr. Ferreira believes it is better to focus on growing the divisions and subsidiaries already owned by Nationale. “It’s a question of focus. We want to make sure that we grow ABA Bank prudently. We want to make sure that we lead that growth through different economic cycles. “
He also stressed that he saw Canadian activities as deserving special attention. “We actually see a lot of potential in Canada. We want to put more emphasis on growing business in Canada. “
On a potential interest rate hike, Ferreira believes that the high savings rate of households during the pandemic will allow them to absorb a possible interest rate hike in 2022.
Mr. Ferreira called the results for the fourth quarter (ended at the end of October) “exceptional”, as net income rose from 492 million to 776 million, or adjusted earnings per share of $ 2.21 compared to at $ 1.69. La Nationale also took advantage of the green light from regulatory authorities to increase its dividend by 23% to $ 0.87.
The royal
Royal Bank also reported improved fourth quarter earnings to $ 3.9 billion, up $ 646 million or 20% from the corresponding quarter of 2020. Earnings per share increased also rose 20% during the same period, to $ 2.68.
For the full 2021 fiscal year, Royal Bank’s net income was $ 16.1 billion, a sharp increase of $ 4.6 billion, or 40%, compared to the corresponding period of the Previous exercice. The institution recalls that the results for fiscal year 2020 reflected the high amount of allocations related to performing loans of 2.6 billion due to the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Royal Bank’s Board of Directors declares a quarterly dividend increase on its common shares of $ 0.12 per share, or 11%, bringing it to $ 1.20 per share.