BANCOLOMBIA: 1Q18 Profit Falls 14.3% Amid Higher Provisions, Lower Margin

(RTTNews) - Bancolombia's net profit fell 14.3% in the first quarter from a year before, to 521.8 billion Colombian pesos (US$ 181 million), weighed by a 4.1% decrease in net interest income, to 2.512 trillion pesos, and a lower net interest margin of 5.8%, from 6.31% in the first quarter of 2017.

"The adoption of IFRS 9 explains this slowdown in net interest income during 2018, which caused a reduction of 102 billion pesos during the quarter," said Bancolombia in a statement.

The bank added that a stronger Colombian peso compared to the U.S. dollar in the last twelve months also impacted the number. Net interest income decreased by 5.0% during the quarter.

Provision charges increased by 13.0% compared to the first quarter of 2017 and decreased by 5.9% compared to the fourth quarter.