KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 6 — Public Bank Bhd topped the gainers list in the morning session today after posting stronger results in the financial year 2014.

At 11.01am, Public Bank share rose 54 sen or 2.92 per cent to RM18.98 with 1.97 million shares traded.

AllianceDBS Research in a research note today said Public Bank's net profit grew 22 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) on the back of steady growth of net interest and non-interest income.

It said loans grew 11 per cent y-o-y driven by retail loans, namely housing and hire purchase while deposit growth clocked in at 10 per cent, led by fixed deposits.

“Despite challenging times ahead, we believe the bank will continue to deliver a sustainable earning growth of 10 per cent supported by resilient loan growth, best-in-class cost to income ratio and unrivalled asset quality,” it said.

It said that contribution from asset management business would continue to set the bank apart from its peers.

Affin Hwang Investment Bank Bhd, in a separate note, said the key risk to Public Bank earnings is the deterioration in macroeconomics trends.

It said a potential deterioration in macroeconomic trends such as a prolonged budget deficit, declining trade surplus and regional growth slowdown might weaken demand for business loans.

AllianceDBS has set “buy” recommendation on Public Bank with a target price of RM22.60 while Affin Hwang Investment has maintained “buy” call on the bank and kept its target price at RM20. — Bernama