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 <\/strong>“KKP Financial Group” has announced its performance for the first half of the year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which exceeded expectations due to strong support from capital market revenues that surged in line with market conditions. Phatra Securities continues to hold the number one market share in the securities brokerage business, while the banking sector saw loan growth of 5% across nearly all categories except for SMEs. Notably, 40% of all loans are from borrowers receiving assistance measures due to the impact of COVID-19.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>

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        Mr. Apinan Klayopatthana, CEO of KKP Financial Group,<\/span> <\/strong>stated that the COVID-19 outbreak and lockdown measures both domestically and internationally during the first half of the year have led to a slowdown in economic activities. However, the group's performance for the first half of 2020 was better than expected,<\/span> partly due to revenues from capital market fees, which performed well as the stock market recovered from the first quarter of 2020. This includes the securities brokerage business for institutional clients and high-net-worth individuals, where Phatra Securities maintains its number one market share, as well as investment businesses, both medium and long-term (Direct Investment) and short-term investments through securities trading and derivatives (Equity and Derivatives Trading), generating total profits of over 658 million baht.<\/p>

        "The group expects that the impact of COVID-19 is not yet over, especially regarding the time required for economic recovery or the possibility of a resurgence of the outbreak. Therefore, we are fully prepared to handle uncertainties that may affect the capital market or other businesses,"<\/span><\/p>

        To help mitigate the damage to the economy, Kiatnakin Bank has collaborated with government measures and implemented its own measures to assist those affected by COVID-19, such as loan payment deferrals and extensions, which account for 40% of the bank's total loans currently amounting to 250 billion baht, divided into 30% retail loans and 10% business loans. The bank will continue to closely monitor this situation to assess impacts and provide ongoing assistance to customers.<\/p>

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        Mr. Philip Chiang Chong Tan, Managing Director of Kiatnakin Bank Public Company Limited,<\/span> <\/strong>noted that the performance of the commercial banking sector showed a loan growth of 5.0% in the first quarter of 2020, driven by growth in nearly all types of loans (except for SME loans and Lombard loans), including retail loans (5.5%), business loans (3.5%), and corporate loans (8.9%). Particularly, retail loans for car hire purchase grew by 6% (YTD),<\/span> partly due to the expansion of the car hire purchase market to higher-quality asset groups as some players exited the market. Additionally, there has been an increased demand for used cars due to the avoidance of public transportation and more attractive pricing in a highly uncertain economic environment.<\/p>

Furthermore, the expansion of loans is also attributed to measures assisting those affected by COVID-19, such as debt payment deferrals, which prevented loan amounts from being reduced.<\/p>

"However, given the overall uncertain situation, current financial assistance measures may not fully reflect the true quality of loans or credit. Therefore, the bank has adopted a cautious lending policy and has set aside provisions for expected credit losses for the second quarter of 2020 amounting to 744 million baht, an increase of 21.9% from the same quarter last year, to provide additional protection, resulting in a credit reserve ratio of 128.7%."<\/span><\/p>

       Mr. Precha Techrungchaitakul, Head of Finance and Budget and Head of Financial Markets at Kiatnakin Bank Public Company Limited,<\/span> <\/strong>indicated that the performance for the first half of 2020 showed that the group had a net profit excluding minority interests of 2,668 million baht, a slight decrease of 1.1% from the same period in 2019, with net profit from the capital market business operated by Phatra Capital Public Company Limited and its subsidiaries amounting to 775 million baht. Net interest income was 7,154 million baht, an increase of 19.8% from the same period last year.<\/p>

          Net fee and service income stood at 2,160 million baht, an increase of 0.7% from the same period last year, and other income was 1,133 million baht, totaling operational income of 10,446 million baht, an increase of 13.8% from the same period in 2019. In terms of loan quality, the ratio of non-performing loans to total loans at the end of the second quarter of 2020 was 3.4%, down from 4.0% at the end of 2019.<\/p>

        The bank's capital adequacy ratio (BIS Ratio) calculated under Basel III standards, including profits up to the end of the second quarter of 2020, stood at 17.76%, with a Tier 1 capital ratio of 13.7%.<\/p>