KARACHI : Silkbank has announced its Q3, 2013 results, recording a growth in deposits, closing the quarter at Rs70.85 billion. This growth was accompanied by a rise in gross advances by Rs3.37 billion.  The remittance business also improved by 60% and with more tie-ups with the remitting companies underway, a further increase was anticipated. The usage of the Silkbank VISA Debit Card for point-of-sale-transactions rose by 41%.  Silkbank expanded its branch network and spread its presence to 33 cities within the country by opening 3 new Emaan Islamic Banking branches.  Silkbank recorded a loss of Rs259 million after tax for the period ended September 30, 2013.
 The loss incurred by the Bank was attributed primarily to various industry-wide provisions hitting the banking industry.
The Bank is pursuing a strategic course of action whereby it is bringing in low-cost deposits, converting and selling repossessed assets, reducing non-performing loans and rationalizing administrative costs. These tactical measures are aimed at making the Bank profitable before the end of the year. Moreover, with the asset-base mix moving towards higher yielding assets, margins are set to widen in the future, ensuring higher profitability in the coming years. In addition to converting non-earning assets into earning assets, the Bank is making its cost base increasingly efficient while rigorously growing its new business initiatives and ensuring the future robustness of the existing business.