Equitor's internationl trust business helped push the Bank of Bermuda's half year profits down six percent, the bank reported yesterday.

The Island's largest bank reported net income for the period to December 31 of $19.28 million, down six percent from the same period in 1993, and earnings per share of $0.99, down 11 percent.

But the bank added more than half a billion dollars in assets, which stood at $7.93 million at December 31, up eight percent from the year before. From June 1 to December 31, assets rose by $200 million.

Interest income ($40.7 million) was an improvement of ($7.8 million) 24 percent over the six months to December 31, 1993. Fee revenues shot up 19 percent to $64.1 million.

Investment income, including dividends from Bermuda Home, are up $1.6 million, year-over-year. It jumped from $715,000 in the six month period 1993 to $2,315,000 in the six month period 1994.

But operating expenses were up by $21.1 million to $87.8 million as a result of new recruits needed for the pursuit of more international business.

The expenses included the October takeover of the Standard Chartered Equitor international trust business in the Far East, South Pacific and Jersey.

It is a larger trust company than the bank's local, long established, Bermuda Trust Company Ltd. Standard's acquisition has helped continue a trend where every year, the percentage of total revenues for the bank that are derived from overseas, steadily increases.

It means that the bank, through Bermuda Trust International, which administers its private trust activities, is becoming a major player in the delivery of international offshore private trust services worldwide.

"That purchase was the big thing, and involved a group of staff of 240 people,'' said Mr. Mowbray. "There were about 140 in Hong Kong, 54 in Jersey in the Channel Islands and 46 in the South Pacific, distributed between New Zealand and the Cook Islands and Western Samoa.

"The other part of the added expenses was that we've been adding staff to the local trust company and the investment division, with a view to future expansion of business.'' The bank's staff has grown over the last six months, by 24 people locally, and 163 internationally. The bank's total staff grew by 361 persons between December 1993 and December 1994, again mostly overseas, and now stands at almost 2,100.

The bank kept pace with its increasing costs with a near $20 million increase in total revenue.

It has cash and deposits with other banks in demand accounts totaling $1.39 billion, about $64 million more than at the end of 1993. The bulk of the money, $5.3 billion is in term deposits. That's up almost $600 million.

The bank's risk adjusted capital ratio was placed at 14.4 percent, well above the international and local standards of eight and 10 percent, respectively.

Return on equity is a positive 13 percent, although down from the previous near 15 percent. The bank's executive vice president, administration Mr. Louis Mowbray, associated that development with the rights issue which brought another $19.6 million into the bank with attached warrants for a further $31 million.

The biggest piece of the bank business right now deals with providing financial services to international mutual fund managers.