The Tribune

Commonwealth Bank shareholders voted to return the same Board at its May 31 annual general meeting (AGM), following a 2016 financial year where profits were $57.4 million.

''Your bank is an important constituent of the Bahamian economy. We are now the largest market capitalisation on BISX," said executive chairman, William B. Sands, Jr.

"But more than this, your bank has established a reputation as being an early responder to assist our fellow Bahamians in times of national crisis. Our response to Hurricane Matthew continued that trend with financial donations given to the Bahamas Red Cross and The National Hurricane Relief Fund. In addition, we gave loan assistance to our customers and staff. In total, we committed over half a million dollars to recovery from the storm."

Despite that assistance, 2016 profits were only $400,000 below the previous year's record. Total assets increased by 4.8 per cent to end the year at just over $1.6 billion, paid out $35 million in dividends during the year.

"These positive results were achieved despite ever-increasing competition and a lingering less-than-dynamic environment, which saw a downgrade by Standard and Poor's at the end of the year," Mr Sands said.

Going forward, he indicated that Commonwealth Bank would continue to take a conservative approach with an emphasis on consumer lending, since it was a business model that had paid off.

"We strongly believe that our business strategy remains the best opportunity for our continued success in 2017, and while our outlook for the near future is guarded given the many challenges that face us, we remain optimistic that our flexibility, staff and experience will enable us to take advantage of any opportunities," Mr Sands said.

Commonwealth Bank's impaired loan ratio stood at 4.2 per cent at year-end 2016, below the industry average of 12.3 per cent.

The hurricane, uncertainty over a stagnating economy and credit rating downgrades caused the bank's Board to move cautiously in 2016. It completed an $800,000 corporate training centre, and the opening of its branch in Spanish Wells to fill the gap left by Royal Bank of Canada has exceeded projections.

Commonwealth Bank also enhanced its product offerings by introducing a chip-enabled VISA debit card, while its online banking customer base increased to more than 40,000 users. Full-service Saturday banking was extended to seven branches, while the Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) named the bank's president, Ian Jennings, as the executive of the year, and special credit supervisor, Lynden Smith, as mentor of the year.

Shareholders voted to return the full Board of Directors, including William B. Sands; Ian Jennings; Rupert W. Roberts; Roland Craig Symonette; Vaughn W.T. Higgs; Tracy E. Knowles; Earla J. Bethel; Larry R. Gibson; Dr. Marcus R.C. Bethel; and Robert D.L. Sands.