KARACHI, Apirl 25: MCB Bank announced on Friday that its first quarter (January-March) earnings grew by 11 per cent to Rs4.1 billion as compared to Rs3.7 billion the same period last year.

The board of directors of the bank also recommended an interim cash dividend of Rs3 per share at current levels.

According to a press release of bank the growth in earnings was driven largely by a surge in non-interest income, which rose by 46 per cent to Rs1.9 billion as against Rs1.3 billion over the corresponding period of last year.

In sharp contrast, the net interest income of the bank increased by a meagre 2 per cent to Rs6.2 billion as against Rs6.0 billion the same quarter of 2007. The strong performance of the non-interest income was largely negated by a jump in provisions which rose by 219 per cent to Rs615 million as against Rs193 million in 1Q2007. Operating expenditures, on the other hand, declined by around 10 per cent to Rs1.7 billion.