Introduction And Brief History Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

KASB Bank Limited was incorporated on October 13, 1994 as Platinum Commercial Bank Limited. The name was subsequently changed to KASB Bank Limited on February 21, 2003, when the majority shareholding was acquired by the KASB Group, one of the largest financial services groups in Pakistan with leading positions in equity and debt market and making strong headways in consumer banking and asset management. The KASB Group established by Mr. Khadim Ali Shah Bukhari in 1952 has been working successfully in banking, securities, leasing, technology, research and community projects. The Group comprises of KASB Bank Limited and its three fully owned subsidiaries; KASB Securities Limited, a full service corporate entity providing premium brokerage, research, investment banking and advisory services, KASB Technology Services Limited, an Information Technology platform providing IT solution and KASB Funds Limited, an asset management company that has recently launched its first liquid fund in the name of KASB Liquid Fund. KASB Group enjoys the distinct advantage of having developed a strategic relationship with Merrill Lynch, a renowned global investment banking firm, on the KASB Securities side of its business.[1] KASB Bank Limited, with its presence in 13 cities, through its network of 35 branches, delivers a comprehensive range of banking services in Consumer, SME Middle Market and Corporate Banking. The working system within the Bank has been revamped by diverting resources towards segmented business areas which have been showing improved operational activities. Also being given a priority is the Human Resource development besides paying continued attention to the streamlining and improving the internal policies, procedures and processes. Information Technology infrastructure is also being revamped by acquiring solutions best suited to the Banks requirements and to meet the envisaged growth strategy. Vision Partnering Success ValuesMission V Ision Customer Focus and Innovation A Ttitude Passion and Quest that Drives Us L eadership Sense of Integrity, Trust Accountability U Pright Commitment to Being a Credible Corporate Citizen E Xcellence Distinction as a Habit S Ynergy Ability to Harness the Power of Teams *SOURCE: Official Website www.kasbbank.com Associated Companies The primary reason why I chose KASB Bank is that the KASB Group has had its presence in the Pakistani Markets since 1958 and it has been providing various financial services specializing primarily in Investment Banking, Research, Asset Management and Commercial Banking. This group has had close ties with the investor community of Pakistan and currently it is controlling four businesses i.e. KASB Bank, KASB Securities, KASB Funds and KASB Mudaraba. One of the main reasons for the inception of this bank was to facilitate the investors in their financial market trading transactions. Currently the bank has 104 branches and its operating in 43 cities in Pakistan. It is offering solutions to large portfolio of investment, corporate and consumer banking. According to the financial reports of first quarter of 2012, the banks assets have crossed Rs 100 Billion, which has double since December 31, 2010. Quite recently, KASB Bank was declared the Corporate Finance House of the Year in the category of Equity and Advisory (Banks) by a panel of senior industry experts, acknowledging the quantum and sophistication of investment banking deals executed by the bank during the year under review. COMMERCIAL BANKING Mahana Khazana Mahana Khazana is a type of account that provides the features of both a savings account and a current account. This product provides the customers with monthly interest earned on their profits. It also provides various facilities such as unlimited deposits withdrawals, running finance facility up to 90%, locker facility, free Visa Debit Card, real time online banking, utility bills payment facility through internet banking ATM, free Pay Orders for balances above 1 million, and 24/7 phone banking facility Maheena Asaan Plus Maheena Asaan Plus is a one year term deposit account. The profit is directly credited to the depositors Maheena Asaan Plus account, giving them extra cash to use every month. Minimum deposit required for this account is Rs.100,000 and maximum Rs.20 Million. There is a running finance facility of 75% of the amount investment. Also it provides free Cheque Book on minimum Rs. 1,000,000 invested, free Internet Banking, free ATM/Visa Debit card, and free Online Banking. Business Flex KASB Business Flex is a current account. It offers all businessmen and executives convenient and reliable banking solutions for all business dealings. It provides freedom and flexibility to transact wherever businessmen go. Some important features include free funds transfer facility to all KASB Bank Branches, Running Finance facility, no minimum Balance requirement, free unlimited Pay Orders Demand Drafts, and utility bills payment through Internet ATM. KASB SAMAR Savings Account This is a savings account for the senior citizens. This account can be opened by any individual of 60 years and above. In case of joint account one of the account holders shall be 60 Years or above. Some important features include, no minimum or maximum deposit limit, monthly profit payment, profit calculated on the minimum balance during the month, and unlimited number of transactions. KASB SAMAR Term Deposit Account This is quite similar to the KASB SAMAR Savings Account. Most of the features are same except for a few. For Instance, this is one year fixed deposit account which pays a monthly profit to the depositor. There is a minimum limit of Rs 50,000/- for this account. Middle Market and SME Banking KASB Bank offers Customized solutions for individual businesses. It also provides flexible financing to accelerate the growth. Another feature of this particular banking is One window financial solutions. AGRICULTURE FINANCE Various schemes such as KISSAN SARMAYA scheme has been designed and aimed at meeting all types of financial needs of agriculture sector. Farmers are eligible for KASB Agricultural Credit for each of the following purposes. Farm Credit Production Finance/ Working Capital Just like any other business credit can be provided for working capital needs of the farmers, such as seasonal requirements for crops i.e. purchase of seed, fertilizer, pesticides and weedicides etc. by the farmers. Also short term finance can be provided for sprayers, hired farm labor, power, diesel, oil for tractors and tube well operations, fuel wood for curing of tobacco, electric charges for Tube well operations etc. Short term finance for hire charges for storage and transportation, expenses on marketing, cost of packing and material and processing cost, working capital for storage of raw agriculture/ farm produce by farmers from field only, is also provided. Development Finance Credit can be given to purchase of farm machinery, equipment and allied accessories. Also it can be provided forLand improvement and leveling. Non-Farm Credit Non-farm credit includes financing livestock, dairy, poultry, fisheries, forestry etc. In term of period of finance, non-farm credit is divided into the following two categories Production Finance Short term finance for the items i.e. purchase of feeds, raining and veterinary expenses, artificial insemination, hired farm labor, power, etc. Development Finance Medium and long term finance for purchase of livestock, milk processing and chilling plants, motorcycle for milkmen, veterinary clinics, compound feed making industry, poultry farming, dairy farming, marine fisheries, cold storage for fisheries, forestry, apiculture, sericulture etc. Agriculture financing facilities are available throughout the country at designated agriculture lending branches. All types of financing are available for short, medium and long term depending upon farmers requirement and the nature of finance. CONSUMER FINANCE GharAsaan- Home Loan This is a Home Loan facility with installment plans for the customers. GharAsaan Variants have been designed in such a way that they are convenient and comfortable for customers with different needs. Cash Asaan Personal Finance Cash Asaan Personal Finance is a personal loan with affordable equal monthly installments. The customers can use Cash Asaan for everything that money can buy. TRANSACTION BANKING Correspondent Banking KASB Bank offers a wide range of Correspondent Banking Services such as Credit, Deposit, Collection, Clearing, and Payment services to banks and financial institutions. Trade Finance The Bank offers an extensive range of trade products and services through its global correspondent banking network which spans 69 countries. It aids importers and exporters find optimal solutions for their individual requirements for cross border trading. It provides all trade related services such as managing documentary collections, letters of credit and trade guarantees alongside the risk management and structured export finance. Cash Management The cash management services provide a wide range of innovative products, designed to facilitate the customers to efficiently manage their cash flows thus reducing their transactional and administrative costs, and efficient Accounts Payables and Receivables Management. Alternate Banking Call Centre KASB ONE Phone banking KASB Connect is a 24-Hour contact center which acts as a single access point for all our customers throughout the country. With just a single access phone call, customers can have access to a wide range of tele-banking solutions and personalized banking services. ATM Network The Bank has a network of 94 ATMs countrywide, which continues to expand by the day. Moreover, KASB is also part of the 1 Link, MNET and VISA networks. This allows using the KASB ONE VISA Debit Card across Pakistan at more than 4,000 ATMs countrywide and at more than 1.6 million ATMs worldwide. The KASB ONE VISA Debit card is also accepted on all VISA certified machines displaying the VISA Plus sign. Internet Banking Internet Banking lets the customers perform a variety of financial transactions; such as, funds transfer, bill payments, check account statements and applications for loans. Mobile Banking and SMS Alerts Mobile Banking allows the customers to perform various transactions, such as, fund transfer, bill payments, and balance checks. Also the Bank offers transaction based SMS Alerts service to all its account holders. Home Remittances KASB lets its customers receive their remittances instantly and absolutely free. It offers two options for receiving money in Pakistan; Cash Payments and Instant Credit of Funds for account holders. Instant credit of Funds facility is available for non-account holders as well through which they can receive funds on the same day. CORPORATE BANKING KASB Bank offers custom made products and services for corporate clients as the focus of the bank is on customers needs and to meet their expectations by delivering quality services quickly. Corporate Banking Unit is equipped with expertise in providing solutions for all On/Off Balance sheet needs of our clients, through the strength of KASB Groups presence in a range of financial services. The bank provides various tools for the clients to cater to their needs such as: Working Capital and Trade Finance solutions, including Imports, Exports, Guarantees, FOREX Options and Remittances. Long Term needs, through debt financing. Tailor made balance sheet structuring is also offered through the Investment Banking units expertise. Off Balance sheet, solutions for derivatives are managed througha highly skilled Treasury derivative unit. Cash Management through a dedicated and innovative cash management unit. INVESTMENT BANKING As the leading investment banking firm in Pakistan KASB has extensive knowledge of domestic markets and industries and well-established relationships with local and international investors. KASB is the only local investment bank to be affiliated with a global bulge-bracket bank, i.e. Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Our services include advising on: Mergers Acquisitions Privatizations Project Finance Restructurings Equity raising through IPOs/ SPOs and issuance of Global Depository Receipts Debt raising through issuance of TFCs, Sukuk and Syndicate Finance Structured Finance services through Quasi Equity and Securitization KASB has been very active in Pakistan and has concluded, among others, the last 6 consecutive cross border transactions in Pakistan which have resulted in a US$2.3 billion inflow of foreign exchange since 2006. KASB has generated more private sector foreign inflow into Pakistan than anyone else and continues to highlight investment opportunities in Pakistan to international corporations and global private equity/hedge funds. KASB has closed some of the largest transactions in Pakistans history including US$920mn Malayan Banking Berhad (Malaysia) investment in MCB Bank Limited, US$460mn acquisition of Paktel Limited by China Mobile, US$650mn GDR for United Bank Limited, US$150mn GDR for MCB Bank Limited and US$109mn Lucky Cement GDR.[2] TREASURY MONEY MARKET Products and Services The KASB Bank money market desk provides its customers with a variety of advisory and investment services. We offer our customers competitive quotes and investment advice based on their specific needs. We also allow our customers to invest in Government securities by opening an IPS (Investor Portfolio Services) account on their behalf with the State Bank of Pakistan. The main types of Government securities that our customers can invest in are: Treasury Bills (T-Bills) Treasury bills are zero coupon instruments issued by the Government of Pakistan and sold through the State Bank of Pakistan via fortnightly auctions. T-Bills are issued with maturities of 3-months, 6-months and 1 Year and are priced at a discount. T-Bills are risk free, SLR eligible securities, that are actively traded in the secondary market and are therefore highly liquid. They are issued with a minimum denomination of Rs.100, 000. Pakistan Investment Bonds (PIBS) PIBs are long term bonds issued by the Government of Pakistan and sold through the State Bank of Pakistan via periodic auctions. PIBs are issued with tenors of 3, 5, 7, 10, 15, 20 and 30 Years. Being backed by the Government of Pakistan, they present a low risk long term investment option. The Pakistan Investment Bonds offer a fixed semi-annual coupon and repayment of principal at maturity. They are highly liquid SLR eligible securities that are actively traded in the secondary market. The minimum denomination of PIBs is Rs.100, 000. FOREX MARKETS Products and Services The KASB Bank FX desk offers its customers a vast variety of FX products including: Ready Purchase/Sale The KASB Bank corporate desk provides all corporate and commercial customers the latest market rates for all transactions equivalent to US $5,000/- and above. For amounts less than US $ 5,000/-, the rates mentioned in the rate sheet are applicable. Forward Sale The outward forward sale allows Importers with L/Cs to book rates on their future commitments in order to hedge against any rate fluctuations and volatility. Forward Purchase The outward forward purchase allows exporters with L/Cs or contracts to book rates for their receivables in order to hedge against any future rate fluctuations. Foreign Bill Purchase (FBP) This facility allows customers to present their export bills and immediately receive rupee facility. The bank purchases and discounts the documents and receives the proceeds upon the maturity of the bill ranging from 12days to 180 days. The exporters can also present the bill against any forward booking for discounting, and adjust the proceeds of the forward contract through that bill. Foreign Currency Financing (FCF) The Foreign Currency Finance (FCF) facility allows exporters to avail foreign currency loans on LIBOR based interest rate for up to the maximum of six months. Foreign Currency Import Financing (FCIF) The Foreign Currency Import Finance (FCIF) facility allows importers to avail foreign currency loans for up to six months against DA or sight L/C using LIBOR based interest rates. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE One very significant issue with the bank is that the bank has been experiencing losses since 2009, while its peers, in terms of balance sheet sizes and number branches, have been making profits. The overall industry is also doing fine as it can be seen in the exhibits provided at the end. The Net Interest Margin of the bank has been negative amplifying the losses of the bank. Despite the injection of Rs 13 Million in equity, the bank has been unable to cover the losses. Why this bank has been unable to generate income for its shareholders, will it be able to sustain itself and how can this situation be handled effectively are some intriguing questions and this is what I want find out by doing research on this bank. After a preliminary analysis of the annual reports of KASB Bank, I found out that the bank Liabilities (Deposits) are growing at accelerated rate as compared to past few years. Due to this there is a similar trend in the growth of the Assets of the bank but an interesting fact here is that the main assets (Advances) are not growing; in fact they are showing a declining trend since 2009. So the growth in Assets here is not because of Advances but because of Investments and other liquid assets. There has been a steady increase in Investments of the bank for past few years but in 2012, the investments figure has increased to more than twice of that of December 31, 2011. Similarly lending to other financial institutions has increased more than three folds. Furthermore there has been a substantial increase in Balances with other Banks. The Net Interest Margin is finally positive after three consecutive years but still the bank is producing losses. Assets of bank have been growing but the advances are not. This means that the bank is relying lesser on its core business, and that would be justified somewhat if the bank were making substantial profits from its non-core activities. But that is not the case, so it really doesnt make sense why the bank has restructured its balance sheet in such a way. The growth in assets is due to increase in the liquid assets. Liquidity is always inversely proportional to the Profitability of any firm. So if the bank has increased its liquidity it means that the profitability of the bank is going to decrease automatically. Looking at the historical profitability of KASB Bank such a step is unadvisable but the bank is doing it anyway. The rationale behind this would be identified and discussed in detail in this project. The above stated facts clearly show that there is a problem with KASB Banks financial structure and it needs to be looked into. Why the bank is altering its balance sheet structure and the implications it has on the banks performance have to be found out in order to identify the core problems and propose the best possible solutions. LITERATURE/INDUSTRY REVIEW The area of research for this study is the Profitability of KASB Bank. In simple words the business of banking is taking in deposits from various individuals with surplus resources at a specified rate and giving these out as loans to individuals with deficit in resources at a higher rate. The rate differential or the Spread is the main source of income for a bank. How well a bank manages this differential determines the income of the bank. Banks very rarely compete on competitive rates because that is a dirty game and it is discouraged through mutual understanding. So the margins for spread are quite similar in the industry. Profitability is a reflection of how banks are run given the environment in which banks operate. In fact, profitability should mirror the quality of a banks management and the shareholders behavior, the banks competitive strategies, efficiency and risk management capabilities, Herrero (2007).[3] A bank is operating on a very thin window which means that it cannot bear substantial losses consistently. Any loss in any particular period means that the equity of the bank is being wiped out in that period. In banks the equity proportion is quite low as compared to other business firms, so in case of losses it is quickly wiped out, leading the bank towards default. To avoid such circumstances banks have to be revived with equity injections so that they do not default on depositors money.[4] Pakistans financial sector consists of a wide range of commercial banks, specialized banks, insurance companies, leasing companies, microfinance banks and Islamic banks. All these institutes offer a wide range of products and services to facilitate their customers. NBP, HBL, UBL, MCB and ABL are the top 5 banks of Pakistan, and the share of these top banks is more than 50% of the total assets of the banking industry and exactly 50% of the total investments made by all the banks are contributed by these top 5 banks. Banks mostly prefer to invest in Government securities and approximately more than 83% of their investments are in this particular segment. This is because Govt. borrowing has increased manifolds over past few years and banks would obviously prefer lending to a default free entity, eliminating credit risk. Consequently the consumers or private entities suffer.[5] During the past few years, financial markets and institutions have undergone many changes and witnessed more than 40 transactions of acquisitions and mergers of bank and non-bank financial institutions for the purpose of consolidation and diversification. Today, banking sector is significantly contributing in the economic growth of the country in accordance with the SBP rules and regulations. Currently, Pakistan has 5 public sector banks, 22 local private banks, 7 foreign banks and 4 specialized banks. The NPLs are 5.6% of the total banking credit, showing the employment of better banking practices and improved asset quality in the sector.[6] In general, despite the apparent difference in tenors, NSS instruments have been a key substitute of bank deposits, particularly of fixed tenor. It is partly because NSS instruments offer early encashment facility without penalty. Typically, in the presence of significant interest rate differential, movement towards NSS instruments is understandable. However, it has not always been the case. For instance, while interest rate differential has been around 6 percent during FY02-06, flows towards NSS instruments have actually plummeted. This was largely on account of banning institutional investments in NSS, suspension of DSCs and SSCs sales through banks and disallowing banks to lend against NSS instrument. However, with removal of ban on institutional investment in late 2006, flow towards NSS instruments resumed. In recent years, upward revision of NSS rates has attracted strong flow of investments, though fixed deposits have revived as well, particularly in FY11 amid strong growth in overall deposits.[7] Prior to the recent financial crisis, the excess liquidity and competition among the banks prompted them to move away from the traditional limited product range of credit to the government and the public sector enterprises, trade financing, big name corporate loans, and multinationals. The borrower base of the banks expanded many fold as the banks diversified into agriculture, SMEs, consumer financing, mortgages, etc. The middle class which could not afford to buy cars or houses/apartments as it did not have the financial strength for cash purchases, has been the biggest beneficiary of these new products and services. Assets of the banking sector are growing at the rate of 15% whereas deposits are increasing with a rate of 14.5%. Advances have decreased by 0.2% and investments in securities have grown tremendously by 42.5%. Profit after taxes has also increased by 69.23% from last year.[8] Asset quality of overall banking sector has improved. NPLs of the banking system are driven by a number of factors including economic activities, legal system, unexpected shocks, and credit evaluation ability of the banks. Apart from of the underlying factors, increase in NPLs has strong influence on the banking spread. It not only reduces the earning assets of banks, but also imposes a cost in the form of provisions. In case of Pakistan, the banks are required to provide for the amount of nonperforming loans after adjusting for permissible partial benefit of collateral. NPLs to total loans ratio has improved from 14.7 to 16.2 in Dec 2011 as per SBP calculations. Same effect has been observed if we look at this ratio by banking segments (commercial, foreign, specialized banks). Overall ratio of provisions to NPLs has remained the same. Banks have lent mostly to textile sector whereas agriculture sector remained comparatively neglected. Highest NPL ratio has been observed by electroni cs sector, but banks have not lent a significant amount to this sector. Textile sector has shown 28% infection level which is quite high among all other sectors. The NPL situation in consumer financing has improved if we compare it with previous years.[9] Liquidity position of overall banking sector has improved if we check the liquidity position with total assets or total deposits as base. Total Advances have decreased, which has also caused the banks to invest excess liquidity in investments which are liquid assets causing the banks overall liquidity situation to be better off.[10] Distinct from other risks, market risk is an important risk for banks. Its distinction, particularly from credit risk, often gets blurred as market and credit risks may interact to reinforce each other and result in substantial losses if not managed jointly. Despite its significance, when measured in terms of current practices of calculating risk weighted assets, the contribution of market risk remains trivial in the overall risk profile of the banks. Moreover, efficient management has introduced good services and products which really have attracted more customers towards banking. Number of branches has also been on the rise, which has definitely increased the total deposits. This excess liquidity has been invested in securities or extended as loans. Interest income from both advances and securities raised the net income level of overall banking sector. Although expenses have also increased by 10% due to extension in branch network and hiring of employees, they are controlled and income has increased by 17% as compared to last year. Along with interest income there is an increase in fee, commission and other service charges leaving a positive impact on net income. Profit after taxes has increased by 69%. NBP in particular has shown record profits too.[11] More than 50% of the total advances extended to any sector are contributed by these top 5 banks. Therefore we can say that most of the banking business is concentrated around these top banks. Similarly these 5 banks have highest depositor base and enjoy more than 50% of total deposits. More than 75% of the profits of the banking sector have been earned by these banks. So, in order to remain in the market and continue doing business, the medium and small sized banks will have to remain committed to continuous improvement in service quality as well as product innovation.[12] The literature on Profitability of a bank is vast and a great deal has been written about the determinants of the Profitability. It is evident from the studies that there are two types of factors determining the profitability of a bank; internal and external. Internal factors may be bank specific characteristics and external may be macroeconomic environment and market/industry characteristics; Ramlall (2009).[13] Size, capital, efficiency and credit risk are considered as the most significant Internal determinants in most of the studies. Demirguc-Kunt and Maksimovic (1998) and Akhavein et al. (1997), all have identified that a positive relationship exists between size and profitability. As far as capital is concerned, if a bank has higher level of capital it can meet its regulatory capital requirement easily and may even have surplus funds to give out as loans in order for it to earn higher profits, Havrylchyk et al. (2006).Furthermore, if a bank has efficient operations it should be able to earn higher profits as it would be able to maximize its net markup/interest income, Molyneux and Thornton (1992). Finally, we know that in order to earn higher return one has to take higher risks. But if the credit risk is increasing it does not necessarily mean that the bank will be able to generate higher returns as more loan loss provisions would have to be kept aside, thus compromising profitability. This negative relation was found by Miller and Noulas (1997).[14] The external factors can be divided into Macroeconomic Determinants and Industry Specific determinants. The macro-economic factors include; interest rate, cyclical output, the level of economic development and stock market capitalization. Cyclical output and the level of economic development usually represent the business cycles since banks profits are expected to be related with the business cycles, being higher in case of boom and lower in case of bust, Demirguc-Kunt and Huizinga (2001) and Bikker and Hu (2002). Havrylchyk et al. (2006) found that stock market capitalization and banks profitability are negatively related as equity and bank financing are substitutes of each other. A good example is the quality of managerial decisions (Berger and Mester, 1999). The quality of bank management is closely related to corporate governance (DeYoung and Rice, 2004).[15] The industry-specific factors include, may be the regulatory environment and the market sentiments in which all the banks operate. Basically, a concentrated market will confer higher profits for banks as they are able to tap a higher market share relative to banks capturing only a small portion of the market. On the other hand, in case of a well-diversified market structure, banks are expected to enjoy low profits level on the back of a highly competitive market structure.[16] During the recent global financial crisis, Liquidity has had a very important role. When the crisis hit, the surplus units who had provided the funds in the market started pulling out. This substantially increased the demand for liquidity. Banks all over the world faced problems and in some extreme cases they had to merge with other banks. As a result, in order to revive the financial stability local authorities had to step in and inject liquidity in many countries, Longworth (2010); Bernanke (2008).[17] Later on, the authorities made it an obligation for banks that they increase their liquidity level in order to avoid inconvenience at the time of need. Policymakers have suggested that banks should hold more liquid assets than in the past, to help selfÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ insure against potential liquidity or funding difficulties. Since liquid assets such as cash and government securities generally have a relatively low return, holding them imposes an opportunity cost on a bank. If the regulation regarding liquidity is absent, the bank will only hold liquid assets until the point where it does not compromise the profitability of the bank. The reason for this behavior by banks is that liquidity compromises profitability. If one wants to increase liquidity, profitability will automatically be decreased and vice versa. However in time of need, the policymakers can regulate by ordering the banks to increase liquidity beyond that point, in order to ensure overall financial stab ility. The analysis of liquidity holdings for firms has been done in a great deal of literature. However, literature regarding the impact of liquidity and its relation to the profitability of a bank is limited. This relationship is not the focus of this paper; it is one of the angles that we will be looking at. Berger (1995) looked into the statistical relationships between earnings of banks and capital for U.S. banks over the period of six years, from 1983-89. He found out that in perfect capital markets with symmetric information,[18]there is a positive relationship between capital and return on equity. These results, according to various scholars, are consistent with the expected bankruptcy cost hypothesis. In other words, if the bank has higher level of capital, it will decrease the cost of funding and cost of issuing additional capital to such an extent that at some point it might even offset the costs completely. While Berger (1995) applies the concept of the expected bankruptcy cost hypothesis in the realm of capital, it is also conceptually applicable to the impact of liquid assets on profitability, whereby banks holding more liquid assets benefit from a superior perception in funding markets, reducing their financing costs and increasing profitability.[19] According to Morris and Shin (2010), illiquidity risk is one of the components of Credit Risk. The model gives a formula for illiquidity risk and the authors show that if the liquidity ratio of a bank increases it reduces the probability of illiquid default. If an increase in the relative liquid assets holdings of a bank decreases its probability of default, and if the expected bankruptcy cost hypothesis is indeed correct, then holdings of liquid assets should exhibit a positive relationship with bank profits. On the contrary, holding liquid assets means the bank will have low return relative to other assets, thereby having a negative effect on profitability. Thus, overall, we expect liquid assets to exhibit a nonÃÆ' ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ linear relationship to bank profitability in which increasing liquid assets would improve a banks profitability through the expected bankruptcy cost hypothesis, as long as the benefit of holding liquid assets is more than the opportunity cost of low return. Interest spreads and margins play a very important role in determining the profitability of a bank. A comprehensive review of determinants of interest spreads is offered by Hanson and Rocha (1986). That paper summarizes the role that implicit and explicit taxes play in raising spreads and goes on to discuss some of the determinants of bank cost and profits, such as inflation, scale economies, and market structure. Using aggregate interest data for 29 countries in the years 1975-1983, the authors find a positive correlation between interest margins and inflation. Brock and Suarez (2000), for example, show a negative relationship between bank spreads and NPLs over total loans for most Latin American banking systems.[20] The balance sheet structure of a bank is another determinant of the profitability of a bank. On the asset side, a larger share of loans to total assets should imply more interest revenue because of the higher risk. However, loans also have higher operational costs because they need to be originated, serviced and monitored. All in all, profitability should increase with a larger share of loans to assets as long as interest rates on loans are liberalized and the bank applies mark-up pricing. In this vein, Demirguc-Kunt and Huizinga (1999) report that banks with a relatively high share of non-interest earning assets are less profitable. In addition, government intervention can also affect the balance sheet structure. Fry (1994) shows that administered lending and deposit rates result in the misallocation of credit. On the liability side, a larger proportion of deposits should, in principle, increase profitability as they constitute a more stable and cheaper funding compared to borrowed funds. However, they also require widespread branching and other expenses. Such related costs seem to weigh more than the benefits in emerging countries (Demirguc-Kunt and Huizinga, 1999).[21] Bank size is generally considered a relevant determinant of profitability but there no consensus on the direction of influence. On the one hand, a bank of a large size should reduce costs because of economies of scale. In fact, more diversification opportunities should allow to maintain (or even increase) returns while lowering risk. On the other hand, large size can also imply that the bank is much harder to manage or it could be the consequence of a banks aggressive growth strategy. The empirical evidence is also mixed. Goddard et al. (2004), Garcia-Herrero and Vazquez (2007) show that very large banks in the industrial countries tend to be more profitable. Sitroh and Rumble (2006) found out that smaller banks are more profitable.[22] Market power may also influence profitability, according to two well-known theoretical models. The first one is the structure-conduct-performance hypothesis, which asserts that a positive relationship between the interest rate margin and concentration (a proxy for market power) reflects non-competitive pricing behavior. The second one is the efficient-structure hypothesis, for which a banks higher interest margin is attributable to more operational efficiency, better management or better production technologies. Since these banks will also gain a larger market share (another proxy for market power), the structure will become more concentrated due to efficiency gains (Berger, 1995). The policy implications of the two hypotheses go in opposite directions. Under the structure conduct theory, high profits stem from market power so that antitrust regulation is welcome to allocate resources more efficiently. By contrast, under the efficient-structure hypothesis, breaking up efficient banks , or forbidding them to grow, may raise social costs by leading to less favorable prices for consumers. The empirical evidence on concentration or market share and profitability is mixed.[23] Finally, the macroeconomic environment may also influence bank profitability through many different channels. Credit risk, for example, is influenced by economic growth, inflation and the level of real interest rates as they affect the borrowers repayment ability and the value of collateral. Demirguc-Kunt and Huizinga (1999) show empirical evidence that rapid economic growth and high real interest rates increase profitability for a large number of countries. Inflation is generally associated with higher profitability as it implies additional earnings from float, which tend to compensate for the higher labour costs (Hanson and Rocha, 1986; Bourke, 1989; and Boyd et al. 2001). Higher real interest rates have also been found to foster profitability, especially in developing countries (Demirguc-Kunt and Huizinga, 1999). This may reflect the fact that demand deposits frequently pay zero or below market rates, even more so in developing countries. In the same vein, interest rate volatility generally implies higher interest margins as banks generally manage to transfer the higher risk to their clients (Ho and Saunders 1981, Maudos and Fernndez de Guevara 2004).[24] COMPETITORS ANALYSIS Just like any business, the competitors of a firm are the whole industry, but to make the comparison more realistic one has to identify the immediate competitors. The immediate competitors that I have identified for this research are JS Bank and Silk Bank. The rationale for selecting these banks as competitors is that both these banks are similar to KASB Bank in terms of their Assets and number of branches. To check the performance of KASB Bank in all respects, it will be compared to these two banks. From the preliminary analysis of these three banks, I found out that JS Bank and Silk Bank are producing profits for their shareholders regularly while KASB Bank is not. The following financial analysis will put light on the banks standing as compared to its peers. KASB BANK 2011 2010 2009 PERFORMANCE Spread 10.28% -0.21% -8.76% Net Markup/interest Margin -0.66% -0.02% -0.074 ROE -0.027 -1.41 -0.99 ROA -3.45% -4.64% -7.08% Non Markup/Interest to TA 1.30% 1.65% 1.82% Net Markup/Interest expense to total income 1.05% -2.24% -3.97% Markup/Interest expense to Markup/Interest Income 110.28% 100.21% 108.76% Admin Expense-to-Profit Before Tax -0.89 -0.86 -48.00% Non Markup/Interest to Total Income 57.49% 49.21% 49.07% Admin expense to non-markup/interest income 2.94 3.08 2.52 Earnings per Share -1.29 -2.87 -4.54 LEVERAGE RATIOS Capital Adequacy Ratio 8.00% -3.56% 3.53% Total Deposits to Total Equity 6.59 24.07 10.04 LIQUIDITY Cash Cash equivalents to total assets 21.52% 6.17% 5.06% Investment to total Assets 21.30% 21.85% 22.26% Advances net of provisions to total assets 40.15% 51.34% 49.04% Deposits to Total Assets 84.71% 79.36% 71.82% Total Liabilities to Total Assets 95.18% 94.94% 91.12% Gross Advances to Deposits 56.85% 76.07% 77.74% Gross Advances to borrowing and Deposit 52.92% 66.60% 64.86% LOAN LOSS COVERAGE NPLs to Gross Advances 34.44% 27.08% 21.60% Provisions against NPLs to Gross Advances 16.62% 14.95% 12.15% NPLs to shareholders equity 128.95% 495.69% 168.58% NPLs write off to NPLs Provisions 4.86% 24.61% 47.64% Provision against NPLs to NPL 48.27% 55.22% 56.26% SILKBANK 2011 2010 2009 PERFORMANCE Spread 22.31% 12.53% 0.98% Net Markup/interest Margin 2.06% 1.17% 0.08% ROE 0.04 -0.08 -14.74 ROA 0.77% -1.56% -4.23% Non Markup/Interest to TA 0.93% 1.63% 0.96% Net Markup/Interest expense to total income 4.96% 0.85% -3.28% Markup/Interest expense to Markup/Interest Income 77.69% 87.47% 99.02% Admin Expense-to-Profit Before Tax 2.78 -2.55 -0.65 Non Markup/Interest to Total Income 43.20% 38.21% 40.50% Admin expense to non-markup/interest income 4.46 2.66 4.15 Earnings per Share 0.26 -0.42 -3.22 LEVERAGE RATIOS Capital Adequacy Ratio 6.65% 5.24% 0.56% Total Deposits to Total Equity 3.41 4.15 251.95 LIQUIDITY Cash Cash equivalents to total assets 5% 4.82% 4.77% Investment to total Assets 19.35% 18.15% 29.39% Advances net of provisions to total assets 55.07% 61.04% 46.75% Deposits to Total Assets 70.66% 76.66% 72.25% Total Liabilities to Total Assets 93.78% 93.35% 97.43% Gross Advances to Deposits 86.32% 95.01% 81.82% Gross Advances to borrowing and Deposit 67.57% 80.71% 62.74% LOAN LOSS COVERAGE NPLs to Gross Advances 19.93% 23.35% 29.29% Provisions against NPLs to Gross Advances 9.71% 16.19% NPLs to shareholders equity 58.63% 92.02% 6039.17% NPLs write off to NPLs Provisions 48.94% 2.66% 27.19% Provision against NPLs to NPL 48.74% 69.34% 71.43% JSBANK 2011 2010 2009 PERFORMANCE Spread 40.18% 31.66% 28.51% Net Markup/interest Margin 3.18% 2.65% 2.19% ROE 0.04 -0.06 -0.11 ROA 0.66% -1.03% -1.81% Non Markup/Interest to TA 1.41% 0.85% 1.03% Net Markup/Interest expense to total income 3.46% 2.31% -0.16% Markup/Interest expense to Markup/Interest Income 59.82% 68.34% 71.49% Admin Expense-to-Profit Before Tax 3.93 -2.97 -1.2 Non Markup/Interest to Total Income 41.64% 51.31% 60.56% Admin expense to non-markup/interest income 2.74 5.55 5.11 Earnings per Share 0.36 -0.50 -0.97 LEVERAGE RATIOS Capital Adequacy Ratio 16.13% 17.64% 23.99% Total Deposits to Total Equity 4.25 3.63 3.79 LIQUIDITY Cash Cash equivalents to total assets 7.42% 8.17% 10.90% Investment to total Assets 42.03% 34.79% 28.99% Advances net of provisions to total assets 33.08% 35.49% 35.54% Deposits to Total Assets 73.71% 66.72% 64.79% Total Liabilities to Total Assets 83.89% 85.18% 82.81% Gross Advances to Deposits 46.16% 55.20% 57.09% Gross Advances to borrowing and Deposit 42.78% 45.61% 46.17% LOAN LOSS COVERAGE NPLs to Gross Advances 14.97% 13.12% 7.04% Provisions against NPLs to Gross Advances 2.77% 3.64% 3.93% NPLs to shareholders equity 29.38% 26.29% 15.24% NPLs write off to NPLs Provisions 29.43% 25.88% 161.80% Provision against NPLs to NPL 18.50% 27.72% 55.72% PERFORMANCE / PROFITABILITY RATIOS The Profitability ratios of the competitor banks i.e JS Bank and Silk Bank, show that they are much better off than KASB Bank. Both these banks are generating profits at an increasing rate while KASB Bank is producing consistent losses for past three years. The negative ROE suggests that the losses are wiping out the equity of the bank. The ROE of JS Bank and Silk Bank is increasing steadily whereas The ROE of KASB Bank declined further in FY10 and then increased but remained a negative figure. The Return on Assets for KASB Bank has also been negative throughout showing that not enough return is being generated either because of the poor management or poor asset quality. The competitors for the three years ROA are more than KASB Bank, which means that they are utilizing their assets better. Net Interest Margin ratio is the difference between interest income and interest expense as a percentage of assets. The NIM ratio is negative for KASB Bank, it shows that the bank has been doing poor asset liability management. Non-interest income as a percentage of total assets is roughly the same for all banks. The ratio of interest expensed to interest earned shows that the interest expenses of KASB Bank are more than the interest income can cover which is an alarming situation. The competitors ratios suggest that their interest incomes earned are well above the interest expenses they have been incurring. Earnings before taxes have been negative so all the ratios associated with EBIT come out to be negative. The Administrative expenses as a percentage of non-interest income, as compared to peers, show that the bank has not been spending as much money as it should have on its human resources which can be reason for poor management of the bank. EPS has also been decreasing consistently. CAPITAL ADEQUACY RATIO Capital Adequacy Ratio is basically used to protect depositors and promote the stability and efficiency of financial systems around the world. Two types of capital are measured: tier one capital, which can absorb losses without a bank being required to cease trading, and tier two capital, which can absorb losses in the event of a winding-up and so provides a lesser degree of protection to depositors. The ratios calculated for these banks show that KASB Bank has had lower ratios than required by BASEL II and III. Silk Bank has even lower ratios than the required. Only JS Bank has had capital well above the required by the BASEL III. LEVERAGE RATIOS Total Deposits to Total equity ratio indicates the level of leverage in the Bank. The ratios show that KASB Bank has taken quite a lot of debt with respect to its equity. JS Bank has reasonable leverage. Total deposits are lesser times equity than other banks. It shows that KASB Bank has been taking on quite a lot of debt in past few years then it can handle. LIQUDITY RATIOS Liquidity is always inversely proportional to Profitability. We have seen in the ratios that the profitability of KASB Bank has been decreasing in past few years, it means that its liquidity has been increasing, and this notion is easily backed by the ratios that have been calculated. JS Bank has had an opposite trend over the years; the liquidity has been decreasing steadily. Silk Bank on the other hand has been maintaining the level of its liquidity. KASB and Silk Bank have a similar percentage of total assets in securities investments while JS Bank has been increasing the investments during past few years. Also in KASB Bank, the proportion on total assets being financed by deposits has been increasing and it has reached 84.71%, while the other two peer banks have kept it near 70%. Increasing the reliance on deposits to finance assets is not advisable after a certain extent and KASB Bank is taking substantial risk by doing so. LOAN LOSS COVERAGE Looking at the financials of all three banks, it is clear that KASB Bank has the highest proportion of NPLs with respect to total advances. In FY11, the NPLs as a proportion of total loan has reached 34.44% which is quite alarming especially when the bank is already in losses. Silk Bank has been reducing its NPLs and it has been successful in doing that. JS Bank has the lowest NPLs but they have been increasing over the years, although still quite less than both peer banks. However, if we look at the Provisioning for NPLs, KASB Bank and Silk Bank have been doing a better job than JS bank to cover their loan losses. Non-Performing Loans to Shareholders equity also gives us an interesting picture. KASB Banks NPLs are substantially more than the shareholders equity, thus wiping out the equity of the bank.