MariBank, a digital bank licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sea Group, reported a significant rise in income for 2023, yet its losses also increased, as reported by DealStreetAsia.
The digital bank saw its total income for the year ending 31 December 2023, surge over sixfold to S$10.1 million (approximately US$7.49 million) from S$1.6 million the previous year.
Despite this increase, the MariBank‘s total comprehensive loss widened by 28% year-on-year to S$51.9 million.
Staff costs were the largest expense for MariBank, totaling S$33.3 million in 2023, up 60% from S$20.8 million in 2022. Salaries and bonuses accounted for S$21.8 million.
Customer deposits at MariBank rose sharply to S$503.8 million in 2023 from about S$2 million in the previous year. In July, MariBank raised its cap for individual savings accounts to S$75,000 from S$5,000, following a similar move by rival GXS Bank.
This suggested a possible easing of the S$50 million deposit cap initially imposed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), although MAS has not confirmed this publicly.
Digital banks have been advocating for higher deposit limits to enhance their lending capabilities.
The bank’s reserves with the central bank grew to S$62.7 million from S$817,000 a year earlier.
Loans and advances to customers reached S$4.9 million, while total assets amounted to S$956.6 million, including S$800 million in Singapore government securities and treasury bills. As of 31 December 2023, total liabilities stood at S$560.8 million.
MariBank began operations in July 2022, initially offering digital banking services to select members of the public.
Natalia Goh was recently appointed as MariBank’s new CEO, succeeding Zheng Yu Dong, who will step down after a five-year tenure but will continue as an advisor to MariBank and Sea Group.
In December 2022, Sea Ltd injected around US$56 million into MariBank, bringing the total capital infusion to about US$358 million since 2021, according to DealStreetAsia.
Featured image credit: Edited from Freepik