Thai banks' net profit up 23% in 4Q16

Thanks to an 18% decline in provisioning.

Analysts at Maybank Kim Eng expect sector net profit to have risen 3% QoQ and 23% YoY in 4Q16, led by an 18% QoQ decline in provisioning.

"Toplines should have been soft. Despite high seasonality, we look for only 1.4% QoQ loan growth, partly due to mourning for the late King. We also expect a slowdown in the securities business, going by lower equity trading volumes."