APS Bank plc has reported a record pre-tax profit of €34.5 million at Group level for the nine months ended 30th September 2026, up 94% from €17.8 million in the corresponding period last year. At Bank level, pre-tax profit reached €35.4 million, up 94.7% from €18.2 million in 9M2025.

The record performance maintains the strong momentum reported at the interim stage, supported by sustained growth in revenues and business volumes, continued strengthening of net interest margins and disciplined cost management.

Net interest income grew by 37.5% to €77.7 million, compared with €56.5 million in 9M2025, driven by continued expansion in retail and commercial lending, a stronger contribution from the treasury portfolio and improved funding costs. While returns from the syndicated lending portfolio moderated, these were more than offset by higher cash and fixed income yields.

Interest expense declined to €25.6 million from €34.7 million in the corresponding period last year, despite the larger deposit base. This reflected the continued optimisation of the Bank’s funding mix, with a further shift towards overnight and demand deposits. As a result, the Group’s Net Interest Margin strengthened to 2.23%, from 1.80% in 9M2025.

The performance was also supported by growth in non-interest income, with net fee and commission income increasing by 22.1% to €8.7 million, from €7.1 million in 9M2025. Growth was recorded across the Group’s banking activities, supported by the larger lending portfolio and higher revenues from investment services, insurance and pensions products, treasury and transactional banking activities. Market instability, particularly during September, resulted in net unrealised losses on financial instruments of €1.8 million at Group level, compared with net gains of €0.8 million in 9M2025.

Net impairment charges for the nine-month period amounted to €3.5 million, compared with €0.5 million in 9M2025, primarily reflecting additional provisions relating to Stage 3 exposures within the commercial and syndicated loan portfolios. Despite the higher provisioning, the Bank’s Non-Performing Loan ratio remained contained at 1.48%, reflecting the overall resilience and quality of the loan book and the Bank’s disciplined approach to credit risk management.

Operating expenditure increased by 3.7% to €48.9 million, from €47.2 million in 9M2025. Personnel costs rose by €2.0 million, partly offset by a €0.8 million reduction in administrative overheads, as the Bank continued to invest in talent, human capital transformation and upskilling, operational resilience, technology and cyber security while maintaining its focus on cost discipline.

Operational efficiency continued to improve, with the cost-to-income ratio falling to 56.6%, from 72.8% in 9M2025. Excluding non-recurring items, the core cost-to-income ratio improved to 55.5%, from 71.3% in the corresponding period last year.

Group profit after tax reached €22.7 million, compared with €10.5 million in 9M2025, while Bank profit after tax increased to €23.6 million from €10.9 million. Return on Average Equity improved to 8.6%, from 4.7% in the corresponding period last year.

Financial position

Total Group assets increased to €4.91 billion at 30th September 2026, up by €260.7 million from 31st December 2025. The increase was mainly driven by continued growth in the retail and corporate loan portfolio, which expanded by €326.8 million, or 9.7%, during the period. The debt securities portfolio also grew by €57.8 million, while balances held with the Central Bank of Malta declined by €85.3 million as surplus liquidity was redeployed into higher interest-bearing instruments.

Customer deposits increased by €216.2 million over the period, supporting the continued expansion of the Bank’s funding portfolio and reflecting sustained growth in customer balances. The deposit mix continued to shift towards overnight balances, contributing to greater funding efficiency and lower overall funding costs.

Total equity at Group level stood at €367.1 million at 30th September 2026, supported by the €22.7 million profit after tax generated during the period. Of the €11.4 million in final 2025 and interim 2026 dividend distributions, €3.0 million was retained in equity through scrip dividends.

The Bank maintained a strong capital position, with a CET1 ratio of 16.43% and a Capital Adequacy Ratio of 21.17% at 30th September 2026, compared with 17.6% and 23.2%, respectively, at the end of 2025.

In his comments, CEO Marcel Cassar said that the record nine-month results “once again prove the momentum and strength of our business and underline the progress we are making in building a more efficient, focused and profitable banking franchise.” He added that the Bank had continued to deploy its balance sheet and manage risk effectively, while stepping up investment in people, technology, digital channels and operational resilience.

Looking ahead, he pointed to the unprecedented risks and challenges being presented by the cyber and geopolitical environments and emphasised the need to “keep diversifying our markets, sectors and business lines, including cross-border opportunities, while continuing to build a business model based on agility, discipline and resilience, and a commitment to sustain our customers, from young local households to important international corporates, with more scale, products and efficiency.” Mr Cassar also thanked customers, colleagues and investors for their trust, loyalty and support.