Public Bank’s quarterly profit falls 3.8% to 1.77 billion ringgit as provisions rise
Key Facts
Public Bank’s net profit for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, fell 3.8% year on year to 1.77 billion ringgit, from 1.84 billion ringgit in the corresponding period, Bernama reported, citing the bank’s results. The decline came despite quarterly revenue rising to 7.74 billion ringgit from 7.41 billion ringgit a year earlier. The bank said net profit fell by 69.5 million ringgit, affected by higher impairment provisions for loans and financing. Those provisions rose by 116.4 million ringgit as credit costs returned to normal levels. Lower investment income and higher operating expenses also weighed on quarterly profit.
Impairment provisions rose by 116.4 million ringgit from the corresponding period, which the bank attributed to the normalization of credit costs. Investment income fell by 90.8 million ringgit, while other operating expenses increased by 47.0 million ringgit, or 3.7%. The bank said these factors together contributed to a 69.5 million ringgit decline in net profit, despite revenue growth. This reflects the divergence between revenue and profit in the quarter, as higher revenue did not translate into an increase in net profit. Higher provisions remained the largest of the specified items explaining the annual decline.
For the first nine months of 2026, net profit attributable to shareholders was broadly unchanged at 5.349 billion ringgit, compared with 5.348 billion ringgit in the same period of 2025. This shows that the quarterly decline did not translate into a comparable fall in cumulative profit since the start of the year. The bank announced results for the nine months ended September in November 6, 2026. The group reported profit before tax of 7.05 billion ringgit and net profit of 5.35 billion ringgit for the period, according to the bank’s statement. These figures provide a cumulative-period picture alongside the decline recorded in the third quarter.
In the first nine months, net interest and financing income rose 1.2% to 8.55 billion ringgit, while non-interest and financing income grew 7.0% to 2.71 billion ringgit. The bank said intense competition in the loans and deposits market contributed to modest growth in net interest and financing income. On the balance sheet, total loans recorded annualized year-on-year growth of 6.2%, compared with deposit growth of 4.1% during the period. These indicators place loan and deposit growth in the context of expanding banking income, while competition continued to limit growth in interest income. The available statement did not provide a forecast for the interest margin or a future adjustment to its return-on-equity guidance.
Net return on equity was 12.0% in the first nine months of 2026, while the bank recorded a net return of 12.8% in fiscal 2025. Research coverage in August had said management kept its fiscal 2026 return-on-equity target range at between 12% and 13%. Other coverage also said the year’s other targets, including the same range, remained unchanged in an update on first-half results. These figures provide context for the return recorded during the period, but do not in themselves establish that the bank changed its annual guidance. The gross impaired-loan ratio was 0.55% at the end of September, while the loans-to-funding-and-equity ratio reached 84.7%.
On asset quality, the bank said its domestic gross impaired-loan ratio was 0.38% in the first nine months, compared with an industry average of 1.42%. The group’s loan-loss coverage also remained at 135.0%, against an industry average of 80.8%. The common equity Tier 1 capital adequacy ratio was 14.5%, and the total capital ratio was 17.2% on September 30. During the trading break on November 6, after the results announcement, the stock fell seven sen, or 1.41%, to 4.89 ringgit, according to The Edge Malaysia. That move was in the November 6 results-announcement session; the documented facts available here do not confirm the stock’s movement in the November 10 session.