KCB suffers 58.3 percent fall in gross profit

KAMPALA– Kenya Commercial Bank [KCB] Uganda saw its gross profit plummet by 58.3 percent in 2021 to about Shs 12.3 billion from about Shs 19 bln recouped in 2020, its financial statements for the year ended December 13, 2021 show.

One of the bank’s executives attributed the fall in profit before tax figures to the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.

“You are aware that Bank of Uganda [BoU] directed us to restructure loans taken by clients as Covid-19 hit the whole economy. This has affected as some borrowers are yet to pay,” he said while also referring to the recent BoU directive asking commercial banks to give more time to educational institutions to pay debts.

According to the financial records, KCB was able to increase its loan portfolio by 44.4 percent in the year under review to about Shs 365.7 bln from about Shs 253.2bln in 2020.

The bank would in the same period under review post 33.0 percent in customers’ deposits as they climbed to about Shs 592.7 bln from about Shs 445.6bln in 2020.

The bank’s total assets grew in 2021 reaching about Shs 790.3bln in 2021 compared to about Shs 657.3bln in 2020.

Meanwhile, the Non-performing loans (NPLs) schedule improved as they came down to about Shs 19.8 bln in 2021, from about Shs 23bln in 2020.

It was bad business, as the bank would in the period under review write off debts worth about Shs177.3bln, much higher than about Shs 128.7bln written off in 2020.

It is a regulatory requirement from BoU that financial institutions declare their financials to the public for purposes of transparency.

The information also helps BoU to determine the strength and weaknesses of the financial sector. This is important for investments, especially that foreign investors gauge the strength of the financial sector of a country before making investment decisions, experts say.

https://thecooperator.news/standard-chartered-launches-bank-more-score-more-season-ii/

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