Eleven SET-listed banks' aggregate net profit for the third quarter fell by 8.8% year-on-year, dragged by larger loan-loss provisions amid an uptick in bad loans.
The banks' combined net profit came to 49.2 billion baht for the three months to September, compared with 54 billion a year earlier, according to statements filed with the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
Krungthai Bank (KTB) was the worst performer for the July-to-September quarter among the four largest banks.
The country's second-largest bank by assets saw its unreviewed net profit tumble 32% on the same period a year ago to 5.87 billion baht for the third quarter.
The bank set aside 9.92 billion baht to cover impaired loans during the three months to September, up almost 30% on the corresponding period last year, KTB said in a filing.
KTB's non-performing loans (NPLs) surged to 103.7 billion baht at the end of September from 91.9 billion at the end of last year. Gross NPL ratio jumped to 4.51% at the end of September from 3.97% at the end of last December.
The higher bad loans were attributed to large corporate and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loans in some sectors, the bank said.
KTB's coverage ratio increased to 115.4% at the end of September from 121.6% at the end of December.
Lower net interest income also hit quarterly net profit. KTB's net interest income fell 1.6% to 21.3 billion baht in the third quarter, due to tepid loan growth and the impact of lending rate cuts since May.
Net interest margin, however, edged up to 3.29% in the third quarter from 3.24% a year earlier.
During the first nine months, KTB posted a 27% decline in consolidated net profit to 17.6 billion baht.
Kasikornbank (KBank) said unreviewed net profit fell 12.7% year-on-year to 9.47 billion baht as higher net interest and non-interest income could not offset greater impairment charges.
The bank's loan-loss provision rose to 10.4 billion baht for the three months to September from 6.87 billion in the same period last year. But third-quarter credit loss reserves were slightly lower than the 10.6 billion baht set aside in the previous quarter.
Gross bad-loan ratio fell a tad to 3.3% at the end of September from 3.31% at the end of June and 3.32% at the end of last December, KBank said.
With the higher loan-loss provision, coverage ratio at the country's fourth-largest lender by assets rose to 140.7% at the end of the third quarter from 130% at the end of 2016.
The bank's net interest income rose to 23.7 billion baht in the third quarter from 22.4 billion in the same period last year, while non-interest income increased to 16.4 billion baht from 15.5 billion.
For the January-to-September period, KBank's net profit fell 4.3% year-on-year to 28.6 billion baht.
Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), the country's third-largest lender by assets, saw net profit slip 12.2% year-on-year to 10.1 billion baht, largely due to a 7.7% increase in loan-loss reserves and a 4.6% decline in non-interest income.
The bank's impairment charges in the three months to September amounted to 7.55 billion baht, of which 2.5 billion was for special provisions to comply with IFRS 9, a new accounting standard that will be implemented in the next two years.
SCB's consolidated NPLs increased to 62.8 billion baht at the end of September from 61.2 billion at the end of June and 61.4 billion a year earlier.
Gross NPL ratio rose to 2.75% at the end of September from 2.65% at the end of June but fell from 2.85% a year earlier.
SCB said a rise in mortgage-related bad loans to self-employed borrowers and SMEs contributed to the higher impairment charges.
For the first nine months, SCB's net profit fell 2.7% year-on-year to 34 billion baht.
CIMB Thai Bank (CIMBT) was the worst performer in the banking industry for the third quarter. The small bank's net profit plunged 82.2% year-on-year to 76.5 million baht during the three months to September as greater impairment charges took a toll on quarterly earnings.
The bank set aside loan-loss provisions of 1.33 billion baht for the July-to-September quarter, compared with 845 million in the same period last year, though gross NPLs fell to 5.7% of loans outstanding at the end of September from 6.1% at the end of 2016.
The lower gross NPL ratio was due to bad-loan disposal in the third quarter, efficient asset quality management and improvements in the debt collection process.
Tisco Financial Group Plc, a holding company of Tisco Bank, was the best performer in the third quarter. Its unreviewed net profit jumped by 25.8% year-on-year to 1.57 billion baht in the period.
The higher earnings were due to improved net interest and non-interest income from core business, as well as lower provision expenses.
