Kenya’s Stanbic Holdings Pl has registered a profit of Sh2.55 billion in the first half of 2020.
The lender says the performance reflects resilience amidst Covid-19 pandemic, locusts invasion and pockets of floods in some parts of the country.
During the period under review, Stanbic maintained strong balance sheet growth as evidenced by a 27% increase in customer deposits partly offset by 6% decline in net interest income arising from margin compression on the back of government monetary action to cut interest rates to stimulate lending in the private sector.
Further, Stanbic Bank saw a significant reduction in operating expenses to Sh5.2 billion representing a reduction of 15% from the same period last year. This was due to proactive measures taken to re- prioritize expenditure to cushion against the impact of Covid-19.
Stanbic continues to support its clients by offering fee waivers on digital channel transactions in compliance with the Central Bank of Kenya directive. This partly impacted the fees and commission revenue reported in the first half of 2020.
In support of the community, Stanbic together with its partners collaboratively spent over a total of Sh147 million in various interventions in an effort to collaboratively fight this pandemic. Through its women value proposition, D.A.D.A and in partnership with Rotary, Stanbic delivered 700 handwashing stations in different parts of the country and was a key partner in a consortium that brought in 192 ventilators to bolster our health sector’s readiness to grapple with the pandemic.
Additionally, Stanbic’s flagship women’s banking solution DADA which marked its first anniversary in June, reported that it has interacted with over 7,000 women, onboarded over 4,000 women, and issued loans worth over Sh765 million. Through the already established Sh20 billion fund dedicated to women, the Group has reported intentions to increase this commitment. In addition, Stanbic was the first bank to announce customer interventions geared at providing relief from the adverse Covid-19 impact. The Group has since restructured loans worth KES 38 billion worth of loans to protect individuals, SMEs, and large corporates against the economic shock following a national lockdown and a global restriction on travel that disrupted supply chains.
Mudiwa added that the Group will continue to focus on executing its client strategy to ensure that the Group grows its balance sheet while also driving transactional activity as the economy begins to show the first green shoots of growth. “We are starting to see positive growth in the economy following the ease of the lockdown, hence the next six months will be crucial to ensure we defend earnings and register growth. We are refocusing our efforts on digital innovation to further exploit new opportunities.
