Dear Valued Partner,

The financial year ended June 2020 will probably be remembered as a year where businesses faced an overall economic environment which possibly could not have been predicted and required a very robust and instant response to an ever-evolving business climate. It has been challenging for all organisations and we are no exception.  Given the dynamic working conditions which most businesses faced during the Covid-19 pandemic, we consider our financial results for the year under review as very encouraging. That is not to say that the future is looking brighter or clearer but we can assure our stakeholders that the performance for the year ended is certainly going to provide a suitable cushion for economic shocks, which do remain difficult to quantify.

All key performance figures and ratios have shown a satisfactory improvement. Our collective research and guidance from the Board indicated a deterioration in the credit environment. The interest rate decline was also visible and forecasted by us and that our liquidity would produce lower earnings was known. We introduced robust risk parameters and risk mitigation strategies to protect capital and reduce the impact of credit impairment on our asset book. This enabled us to disclose a Net Profit after Tax of MUR 1.5bn, a sustained performance in contrast to the previous financial year. The continued faith in our strategy was ratified by our customers’ deposits reaching a level of MUR 150.9bn and disclosing a growth of 15% over one year. Our loan to deposit ratio at 19% clearly indicates our strategic intent to have a well-researched and cautious credit growth desirable under the current circumstances. This also enabled our Liquidity Coverage Ratio to be maintained at an average of 349% for the quarter ended 30 June 2020 against a regulatory limit of 100%. The Bank is surely well positioned to navigate an uncertain business environment.

The pandemic did bring forward economic challenges but it also brought a sharper focus on how to connect with customers, how to service their requirements and provide them with an assurance that the new normal is in no way compromising the security of their savings and their intended use. On the other side, the ever obliging and customer-focused employee had to be comforted by working from home. These were some challenges and client and employee health and safety came to the forefront as well. We responded to the new operating requirements promptly and diligently. To ensure that we have been and are still doing the right thing, we also initiated a customer survey to measure the satisfaction levels of our client base as regards to servicing their needs. The results were a delight as, overall, it was indicative of the fact that we have improved our service standards appreciably. I take this opportunity to thank our clients for the motivating response and their feedback on areas requiring improvements, which we will address as a priority.