Saturday, 20 April 2024
- Published on 9 December 2021
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BIBD registers stable profit growth and strong liquidity to emerge as Strongest Bank and Strongest Islamic Bank in Brunei in 2021
BIBD remains the largest and strongest bank in Brunei. In addition to the strong capitalisation and liquidity, its profitability was stable despite COVID-related disruptions.
- BIBD emerged the Strongest Bank and Strongest Islamic Bank in Brunei in 2021
- It enjoys a stronger liquidity level than most banks
- Digitisation and sustainability are its priorities
Singapore, 21 October 2021 – Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) topped the rankings of Strongest Banks and Strongest Islamic Banks by Balance Sheet in Brunei in 2021. BIBD and others were recognised at The Asian Banker Strongest Banks by Balance Sheet Briefing and Recognition Virtual Ceremony 2021.
The comprehensive annual evaluation captures the quality and sustainability of the balance sheets of banks in Asia Pacific (APAC), Middle East, and Africa regions. The ranking is based on a detailed and transparent scorecard that evaluates commercial banks and financial holding companies in six areas of balance sheet financial performance, namely the ability to scale, balance sheet growth, risk profile, profitability, asset quality, and liquidity.
BIBD emerged the Strongest Bank and Strongest Islamic Bank in Brunei
With the strength score of 3.1 of out 5, BIBD is the strongest bank in Brunei and ranks 110th out of 500 in the Strongest Bank by Balance Sheet ranking in APAC. The bank is also the strongest Islamic bank in Brunei, according to the evaluation of the 100 largest Islamic banks and financial holding companies in the world. With total assets of $7.3 billion at the end of 2020, it remains the largest bank in Brunei and its assets to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio stood at a high level of 61%.
Hajah Noraini biniti Haji Sulaiman, deputy managing director at BIBD, in her acceptance speech said, “BIBD has remained committed to the services that we bring to our clients, as well as ensuring that assets are well protected and aligned to our basic principle of Maqasid Shariah, as we embark on our sustainability goals”.
It enjoyed a stronger liquidity level than most banks
The liquidity of BIBD remained strong as evidenced by the high liquid assets to total deposits and borrowings ratio of 61% in 2020. This is much higher than the ratio of Brunei’s Baiduri Bank at 41.9%. On average, the liquid assets to total deposits and borrowings ratio of all the 500 banks in APAC stood at 34%. Meanwhile, BIBD maintained a solid capital position with a 19.8% tier 1 capital ratio and a 20% total capital adequacy ratio.
Despite COVID-related disruptions, BIBD achieved high profitability in 2020, as it has continued to be prudent and selective in its business participation and undertakings. It reported 1.3% return on assets and 10.7% return on equity, compared with the industry average of 0.64% and 8.2%, respectively.
Digitisation and sustainability are its priorities
Sulaiman said, “The uptake of digitalisation for Bruneians has been accelerated. We are going to be starting on a journey of sustainability as well, which augurs well with the younger generation. Digitalisation and sustainability are something that we look forward to in terms of upholding and supporting in the future”.
“The take-up has been encouraging, but there's a lot that we need to do to help our clients accelerate or pick up the digitisation agenda. It is not just us as a financial institution that looks forward to this, but we need to bring the whole ecosystem in the country and globally with us. It has to be hand in hand because you can't come out as a winner alone. This is a team race, and we look forward to a lot of collaboration with our ASEAN partners,” she added.
For video of award presentation and the winner's acceptance speech, click here.
For video of the Strongest Banks by Balance Sheet Briefing, click here.
About the Strongest Banks By Balance Sheet programme
The Asian Banker Strongest Banks By Balance Sheet is an annual assessment of the financial and business performance of the banking industry in the Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa regions. The assessment ranks the top performing banks in each country or territory by strength, an evaluation that is based on a belief that a strong bank demonstrates long-term profitability from its core businesses.
The scope and coverage for The Asian Banker Strongest Banks By Balance Sheet come from both the mature markets and the most promising emerging markets in the regions. The focus of the assessment is on commercial banks and financial holding companies with a significant proportion of activity in commercial banking. The assessment does not include central banks, policy banks or finance companies.
The winners are determined using a scorecard approach based on six crucial performance indicators rated on a scale of 0-5: scale, balance sheet growth, risk profile, profitability, asset quality, and liquidity.
About The Asian Banker
The Asian Banker is the region’s most authoritative provider of strategic business intelligence to the financial services community. The global research company has offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Manila, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Dubai, as well as representatives in London, New York, and San Francisco. It has a business model that revolves around three core business lines: publications, research services and forums. The company’s website is www.theasianbanker.com.
For further information, please contact:
Ms. Sue Kim
Marketing Manager
www.theasianbanker.com
