Thursday, 15th July – Bank of Maldives CEO and Managing Director Mr. Tim Sawyer voiced his confidence in the bank and its team in working towards sustainable growth despite the Covid-19 led impact.
Speaking during the online Annual General Meeting of BML on Thursday, Mr. Sawyer voiced on the bank’s role in supporting Maldives during the pandemic.
Furthermore, Mr. Sawyer had made emphasis of the bank’s commitment in serving alongside “Maldivians through these extraordinary and challenging times.”
“We understood the potential economic impact of Covid early on and laid out a strategy to support the country and keep the economy afloat,” Mr. Sawyer spoke regarding BML’s course of action through the global viral pandemic.
Moreover, Mr. Sawyer had thanked the dedication and commitment of his staff who had continued providing service to the large customer-base in Maldives despite the challenges faced during the pandemic situation.
Back in 2020, BML announced short-term financing facilities as well as moratoriums on loans while continuing to step up on delivering government-lending schemes. Moreover, this included administering the EIB Covid-19 Recovery Loan scheme as well.
Recently, BML made announcement of the Economic Stimulus Loan scheme to provide financial backing for local businesses and individuals who were impacted amid the pandemic. The deadline for application submission for the recent scheme will remain effective until 17th July 2021.
In 2020, the bank made a profit after tax of MVR325 million which is a 60% reduction from the earnings of 2019.
However, the bank had continued on its growth while its customer-base inflated by an additional 12,000 customers while BML recorded more than MVR3 billion in new lending for the year 2020.
“We secured almost USD90 million in funding from multiple lending agencies and at the same time, we also worked to ensure we had adequate foreign currency reserves to support the country,” the national bank’s CEO had detailed on their strategy during the previous year.
Moreover, Mr. Sawyer voiced his confidence towards the bank’s improving financial performance, noting that BML stood at financially better position in 2021 in comparison with the corresponding period in 2020.
Furthermore, the bank’s front-man remained “fruitful” in making a strong recovery through the unprecedented economic regression led by the Covid-19 contagion.