KENYA – National Bank of Kenya (NBK) has reported a KSh729 million (US$6.10m) net profit in the first half of 2022, a slight dip from KSh765million (US$6.4m) posted over a similar period in 2021.

Whereas the Bank reported remarkable growth in total operating income at 13 per cent, operating costs grew by 11 per cent on the back of increased investments in strategic projects to enhance operational excellence and customer experience.

NBK Acting Managing Director Peter Kioko said that there was steady income growth, which the bank expects to increase in future periods when benefits from its current digitization and operational investments are realized.

“Our loan loss provision increased, highlighting the challenging lending environment of a tough economic period,” said Kioko.

“Despite these challenges, the bank’s loan book grew to KSh69 billion (US$576.92m), and customer deposits grew to KSh112 billion (US$94m). We maintained a strong balance sheet; total assets grew by 4 per cent to KSh139 billion (US$1.16bn).”

During the period, net interest income grew by 18 per cent from the previous year to KSh4.8 billion (US$40.13m).

This was largely contributed by interest income, which grew by 17 per cent to KSh6.8 billion (US$56.86m) owing to increased volumes in loans and advances as well as improved level of debt recoveries.

During the same period, interest expense grew to KSh2.0 billion (US$16.72m) on increased funding requirements of the bank.

“We are on a steady growth trajectory and anticipate continued growth by supporting our clients and finding opportunities within the current environment,” said Kioko.

“We have, therefore, embarked on a calculated strategy towards ensuring that we provide customer-centric and timely solutions to our customer segments.”

NCBA Group posts 66% growth

NCBA Group has posted a KSh7.8 billion (US$65.22m) half-year profit, a 66 per cent growth from KSh4.7 billion (US$39.30m) in the same period in 2021.

The growth was attributed to rising income, with total operating income up by more than 20 per cent at KSh29 billion (US$242.47m).

The lender’s total assets also grew by 11.8 per cent to KSh604.3billion (US$5.05bn).

Net interest income increased to KSh14.8 billion (US$123.75m) as the lender’s loan book grew 4.5 per cent to KSh250.5 billion (US$2.09bn).

Non-interest funded income (NFI) grew by 32.7 per cent to hit KSh14.2 billion (US$118.73m), supported largely by foreign exchange trading income which more than doubled to KSh5.3 billion (US$44.31m) from KSh2.4 billion (US$20.07m).

The lender’s total operating expenses increased slightly to KSh17.1 billion (US$142.98m) from KSh16.3 billion (US$136.29m) as loan-loss provisions fell by 5.1 per cent to KSh5.6 billion (US$46.82m).

Further, NCBA’s loan book quality improved, with gross non-performing loans falling to KSh36.9billion (US$308.53m) from KSh45 billion (US$376.25m) in June of 2021.

The Group’s board is expected to pay a combined KSh3.3 billion (US$27.59m) to shareholders translating to a dividend per share of KSh2 for the period.

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