Republic Financial Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries continue to feel the squeeze during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, the company reported that for the nine months ended June 30, 2020, its profits declined by US$68.56M. This is 32.7 percent lower than the profits it made for the same period last year.
Since the onset of the pandemic, Republic Bank noted that it has seen decreased economic activity, narrower margins due to reduced lending, waiver of fees and commissions, and the setting aside of additional credit provisions to cover potential future losses.
With respect to its assets, Republic Bank disclosed that its total assets stood at US$15.76 billion, reflecting an increase of US$2.98M or 23.2 percent. Guyana Standard understands that this increase was due to the acquisition of Scotiabank’s operations in St. Marteen and the Eastern Caribbean (Anguilla, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines) on November 1, 2019. The company said that this added US$1.9B to its asset base while noting that the acquisition of Scotia’s operations in the British Virgin Islands on June 1, 2020, added a further US$0.46B to the Group’s assets.
The bank’s Chairman, Vincent Pereira was keen to note that the institution remains committed to working with its business clients to identify appropriate financing structures during this difficult time.
