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The earnings of most of the listed banks plummeted in January-September period of this year compared to that of the same period last year.
Market operators said most of the listed banks saw their EPS fall because of huge provisioning against defaulted loans.
EPS is the portion of a company's profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock. In short, it serves as an indicator of a company's profitability.
Of the 30 listed banks with Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), 18 banks disclosed their earnings per share (EPS) so far till date.
Of them, 13 banks saw their consolidated EPS fall in the January-September period while five banks earned marginal returns, according to the un-audited financial statements.
Exim Bank and ICB Islamic Bank reported negative earnings in July-September quarter while ICB Islamic Bank saw higher losses in July-September quarter.
In January-September period, Exim Bank's EPS declined the most, by 91 per cent year-on-year, to Tk 0.11.
Standard Bank's EPS also fell 83 per cent to Tk 0.12 in January-September period of 2018.
EPS of Al-Arafah Islami, City, Eastern, Exim, First Security Islami, ICB Islamic, Mercantile, Prime, Social Islami, Trust, UCB and Uttara Bank also declined.
On the other hand, Bank Asia, Dutch-Bangla, Jamuna, Premier and Shahjalal Islami Bank saw their EPS grow. Twelve banks are yet to announce their EPS.
The banking sector had to keep huge provisioning during the period as the classified loans are soaring, and those with higher classified loans saw their EPS decline most, said a merchant banker, seeking anonymity.
He noted that that huge competition to attract deposits is another reason for the decline in banks' EPS in the period.
Bearish capital market trend also affected the banks' earnings from the share market investments, he added.
Stock indices took a big hit during the January-September period. DSEX, the prime index of the DSE, registered a cumulative loss of 876 points or 14 per cent in nine months of the year.
The market capitalisation of the DSE also eroded Tk 352 billion in nine months to come down to Tk 3,876 on September 30, 2018.