BLC Bank reported a 35.88 percent annual drop in net after-tax profits to $15.54 million at the end of June 2012, down from $24.23 million during the same period last year. This is mainly attributed to the 89.06 percent year-on-year drop in gains on disposal of property and equipment from $9.11 million as of June 2011 to around $1 million in the first half of 2012. Furthermore, BLC reported some 10.37 percent annual increase in staff costs to $24.07 million. The bank’s net interest income, however, rose by 43.46 percent to $46.63 million, while net fees and commission income came in higher at $9.29 million. On the balance sheet front, the bank’s consolidated assets rose 5.39 percent during the first half of 2012 to $4.65 billion, from around $4.42 billion in the last quarter of 2011. Customer deposits rallied by 8.56 percent on a semi-annual basis to $3.92 billion, with loans and advances expanding by 8.86 percent to around $1.67 billion. From DailyStar