ATB Financial reports 82% net income increase, growth in AUA

For the fiscal year ending March 31, ATB Financial has reported a net income increase of 82%, from $150.8 million to $274.6 million.

In a release, ATB also reports its “highest ever” operating income, and highest operating revenue in a single quarter and year. For the year, loans were up 8.1% to $44.1 billion, but deposits decreased 3.7% to $32.7 billion.

The institution posted growth in multiple business units, including retail financial services. That area of the business “turned a corner,” the release says, with net income of $12.3 million after posting a loss the previous year.

ATB investor services concluded the year with assets under administration of $18.7 billion, up $1.9 billion from a year earlier.

In the release, president and CEO Dave Mowat credits economic improvements in Alberta as one reason for ATB’s growth. He also says there was no reduction in client service or staffing. Further, “We increased loans—even when times got tough,” he says. “Loan loss provisions were a struggle during the recession, but we believed things would improve.”

The institution also invested in technology: it launched a virtual banking assistant in Facebook Messenger, for example, and partnered with the University of Alberta “to investigate artificial intelligence and explor[e] opportunities in the world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.”

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