Eastern Bank Ltd (EBL) reported a 30% year-on-year increase in consolidated profit to Tk 1.76 billion for Q2 2024, driven primarily by higher interest income. The bank’s profit for H1 2024 rose by 33% to Tk 3.22 billion. The surge in interest rates, spurred by the introduction of the Six-month Moving Average Rate of Treasury bills (SMART), played a significant role in this growth.
EBL’s net interest income for Q2 2024 increased by 52% year-on-year to Tk 2.78 billion, while operating profit grew by 44% to Tk 7.26 billion. Despite an 8% rise in operating expenses, efficient management kept costs manageable. However, the bank’s provisioning requirement nearly doubled to Tk 994.04 million in Q2 2024 due to significant losses in capital market investments.