Sabah Bank expands ops to peninsula
Published on: Saturday, October 29, 1983
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The new branch, apart from providing the usual banking services, would also be “on hand to provide information to investors in investment opportunities in Sabah,” its chairman Tan Sri Thomas Jayasuria said.
He told reporters at the opening ceremony that opening of the branch was a logical extensions of the bank’s operations which started in Sabah.
The new branch, situated at the junction of Jalan Imbi and Jalan Sultan Ismail, is headed by Encik Abdul Majid Omar.
It is the fifth branch opened by the bank since it started its operation in 1979.
The other branches are all in Sabah – Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Sandakan and Labuan.
On the small number of branch network that the bank has, Tan Sri Jayasuria said: “We are in no hurry to grow. There are constraints in banking, and we would like to consolidate as we grow.”
The state government backed bank, is 30 per cent owned by Yayasan Sabah, 40 per cent by highly diversified Permodalan Bumiputera Sabah Berhad, with the remaining 30 per cent held by private corporations wholly-owned by Malaysians.
Tan Sri Jayasuria said Sabah Bank was taking a more cautious approach in its growth.
Encik Abdul Majid said public response to the bank’s branch was good and in the first hour of its operation’s it registered 45 accounts including fixed deposits.
Sabah Bank which registered a pre-tax profit of $6 million last year, has grown significantly since its incorporation.
Its initial paid-up capital has been increased twice from $10million to $19.5 million in 1981 and again to $28.2 million last year.
Reserves comprising share premium accounts, reserve funds and retain profit rose to $5.2 million, resulting in the bank’s total shareholders’ fund being increased to $33.5 million as at the end of 1982.
The enlarged shareholder’s funds provided the bank with a strong capital base to meet its future expansion programmes.
At the end of 1982, total assets, excluding contra items, grew by 24.7 per cent to $480.0 million.
Loans and advances rose by $90.6 million to $290.4 million, up 45.4 per cent while total deposits registered a growth of 23.9 per cent to $430.0 million. – Bernama
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