Secure Trust Bank - Asset growth set to flow through to earnings

FY17 was a further year of change for Secure Trust Bank (STB) as management completed the shift away from unsecured consumer loans and reduced the risk profile in motor finance. This restricted near-term profits but the pace of loan book growth has remained strong and looks set to feed into substantial earnings growth as the cost of risk subsides, more than offsetting the lower returns earned on lower risk lending. The shares have begun to respond to this prospect following the results, but the valuation suggests further upside.