Loans by commercial banks continued a growth trend of 4.4 percent last year to 4.7 percent in the first quarter.
The growth was mainly due to an expansion in SMEs to include more business types with loans to large corporations excluding financial institutions contracting slightly as several began repaying their loans and some sought other means of amassing capital.
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In the first quarter of 2018, the banking system recorded increased operating profit, compared to the same period last year, which was mainly attributed to gain on sale of investments and commission income from sale of securities.
Nonetheless, net profit decreased from IT, marketing, and provisioning expenses. Return on asset (ROA) increased to 1.07% from 0.9% last quarter, whereas the ratio of net interest income to average interest-earning assets (Net Interest Margin: NIM) dropped from 2.75% to 2.66% due to the decline in interest incomes from loans.
Consumer loans saw expansion across the board, in particular car loans and home loans with credit loans and personal credit lines also seeing significant growth in line with the burgeoning economy.
