Stanbic Holdings after-tax profit drops to Sh5.2 billion

NAIROBI, KENYA: Stanbic Holdings profit after tax for the period ending December 31 last year has declined from Sh6.38 billion in 2019 to Sh5.2 billion.

Like any other sector, last year was a struggle for financial institutions due to Covid-19 effects which disrupted different parts of the economy.

The bank responded by waiving mobile transactions to the tune of Sh283 million in foregone fee revenue. This, and a reduction in brokerage fees negatively impacted non-interest income for the commercial bank which fell 9 per cent to Sh10.441 billion.

“In uplifting our clients financially, we issued repayment holidays and moratoriums to 7,203 clients,” said Abraham Ongeng, Stanbic CFO.

“We also restructured loans worth Sh40 billion, directing Sh3.1 billion towards small medium-sized enterprises, SMEs and lowered interest rate in line with regulations saving our clients Sh665 million in interest.”

The Group increased its provisioning to reflect the worsening credit risk on the back of layoffs and liquidity constraints on businesses caused by the pandemic. However, customer deposits increased by 12 per cent while customer loans and advances grew by 4 per cent.

“Despite a challenging operating environment, we stood shoulder to shoulder with our clients and the Kenyan community when it really mattered the most,” said Charles Mudiwa, Chief Executive of Stanbic Bank Kenya.
 Reduction in Central Bank rate by 200 basis points, subdued interbank rates and hushed yields on short term government paper resulted in a 4 per cent decline in net interest income to Sh12.795 billion.

“We will leverage our core strengths while seeking new ways to expand our offering and diversify our revenue streams further,” said Mudiwa.