Forum Bank reports awful financials for 4Q12

Forum Bank (FORM UK) posted negative net interest income for 4Q12 (UAH -38 mln), it reported on Jan. 23. For FY12, the bank’s net interest income fell by almost three times yoy to UAH 151 mln. The company’s total 4Q12 revenue was negative, and only the reversal of loan loss provisioning allowed it to post a minor net profit for the quarter. For the full year, the bank posted a record-high cost / income ratio of nearly 4.0 (doubled yoy), while still managing to post a tiny UAH 4.3 mln net profit (vs. UAH 777 mln losses in 2011). The positive net result for the year was achieved by a reversal of the loan loss provision worth UAH 374 mln and a reversal of income tax worth UAH 395 mln. The bank’s total assets declined 17% yoy to UAH 8.7 bln and client accounts fell 14% yoy to UAH 5.7 bln in 2012.

Alexander Paraschiy: The bank is very unlikely to become an investment story any time soon – we hope that all holders have used the opportunity to sell back their shares to the issuer in November-December 2012 following the bank’s acquisition by Smart Holding.