Amanah Bank posts losses in 2011

MANILA, Philippines - Despite a rehabilitation plan crafted by the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), Al-Amanah Islamic of the Philippines (Amanah Islamic Bank) continues to lose money, the Commission on Audit reported.

DBP is the majority stakeholder of the country’s only Islamic bank.

Amanah Islamic Bank posted losses of P42.22 million in 2011, higher than the P39.20 million losses it posted in 2010, but lower than the P63.25 million it lost in 2009.

The government auditor said that out of the total deposits of P237. 25 million for 2011, only P38.25 million or 16.12 percent pertains to Islamic deposits, which is way below the target of 80 percent in year one and two.

Besides the low Islamic deposits, COA also found that the bank was unable to launch any new product or service recently, as well as low amount of loans granted

The Islamic bank is presently in the auction block for a minimum of 49 percent to a maximum of 99.88-percent equity.

But Amanah Islamic Bank can only be attractive if it is able to market its existing products and services.

Meanwhile, the bank management reasoned that the shortfall in its loans and financing activities was due to the lack of the technical experts to package loans.

They added that the lack of an Islamic window in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) facilities, where excess Islamic funds can be parked, denied management from an aggressive campaign for Islamic deposits.

The bank management also cited the lack of BSP regulatory guidelines  on fund management on Islamic products.  – philstar.com