National Bank of Canada saw strong growth on its investment in Advanced Bank of Asia Ltd (ABA Bank) after taking a 90 percent stake in the Cambodia-based lender last May, a banking executive said yesterday.

“I am very satisfied with the performance of the bank as its growth continues,” Louis Vachon, CEO of National Bank of Canada, told reporters after the official launch of ABA Bank’s new logo – a design that combines elements of the two banks.

He said both credit and deposits at ABA Bank surged last year. The bank’s outstanding loan portfolio swelled to $789 million by the end of 2016, from $484 million one year earlier. Meanwhile, deposits topped $800 million by the end of 2016, compared to $654 million a year before.

ABA Bank was founded in 1996 and currently operates 42 branches nationwide, with five more expected to open by the end of the year.

Vachon said under National Bank of Canada’s direction ABA Bank would pursue expansion and roll out new financial services, especially in digital banking.

“The global trend is that people use digital technology to reduce cost and increase efficiency,” he said. “And Cambodia is no different from Canada and other places around the world.”

National Bank of Canada, the sixth-largest lender in Canada by assets, invested a total of $148 million into acquiring a controlling stake in ABA Bank. In 2014, it purchased a 10 percent stake in the Cambodian lender.

The bank upped its shareholding to 42 percent in 2015, and last May it paid $103 million to bring its total shareholding to 90 percent.