Vanuatu, March 11 -- PORT MORESBY,12 MARCH 2020 (THE NATIONAL) --- Bank South Pacific (BSP) Vanuatu recorded a net profit of Vt186.5 million (US$1.5 million) for the 2019 financial year.

BSP Vanuatu country head Nik Regenvanu said 2019 saw a reduction of 36 per cent in net profit to Vt186.5 million (K5.3mil).

"The decrease was mainly a result of the softening economic position in Vanuatu and also an increase in operational expenditure in the business"

The breakdown of the results are:

*Deposits from customers increased by 6.4 per cent to Vt16.3bil (K4.6mil);

*Loan portfolio remained relatively stable at Vt9.6bil (K2.7mil);

*Total income decreased by Vt33mil (K95,000) to Vt1.129bil (K325,000). The majority of this decrease was from n...