NCC Bank has a strong liquidity base: CEO

NCC Bank Ltd is enjoying a strong liquidity base in contrast to the entire banking sector that is confronting an acute cash crunch, said the top executive of the private commercial lender yesterday.

Mosleh Uddin Ahmed, managing director of the bank, said NCC Bank maintained a balanced growth in deposit and credit last year which helped it keep the loan-deposit ratio within the permissible limit.

“The bank has set a roadmap to become one of the top five banks within the next couple of years,” he said, while speaking at a media briefing organised to mark the lender's 25th anniversary at its head office in Dhaka.

According to the bank's balance sheet, the loan-deposit ratio stood at 83.56 percent, lower than the central bank's authorised limit of 85 percent for traditional banks.

The bank hasn't faced any difficulties in lending to borrowers in recent times as its deposit growth stood at 22 percent against the credit growth of 17 percent last year, Ahmed said. The bank's trade financing grew 52.67 percent last year.

It spent as much as Tk 8 crore to ensure cyber security. An additional Tk 116 crore was set aside as provision against the classified and unclassified loans last year with a view to strengthening its financial health, according to Ahmed.

Profit after tax fell slightly to Tk 1,763 crore in 2017 from Tk 2,078 crore a year ago.

Md Nurun Newaz, chairman of the bank, Sohela Hossain, vice-chairperson, and Khairul Alam Chaklader, a director, were also present at the press conference.