First International Bank of Israel (TASE: FTIN), headed by Smadar Barber-Tsadik, released its 2017 financial statements this morning. The bank's net profit grew 30% last year to NIS 678 million. Return on equity was 9.1%.
In the fourth quarter of last year, the bank's net profit grew by 41% in comparison with the corresponding quarter of 2016 to NIS 158 million. Return on equity in the quarter was 8.4%. The bank's board has declared a dividend of NIS 95 million.
The bank's customer assets portfolio grew by 12.8% last year to NIS 442 billion. Deposits from the public grew 7.3% and credit to the public grew 3.9%.
Operating expenses fell 2.8% to NIS 2,607 million. Salaries and associated expenses totaled NIS 1,627 million last year, representing a fall of 1.8%. The bank's headcount fell by 3.7% over the year, and the space occupied by the bank shrank by 9%. The decline in expenses led to an improvement in the bank's efficiency ratio from 73.5% in 2016 to 69.5% in 2017.
First International sold its Swiss branch in 2017. It says that the sale will contribute to a further improvement in its efficiency ratio in 2018.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on March 6, 2018
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