Standard Chartered Bank Kenya Limited (StanChart) has announced a pre-tax profit of 9 billion shillings for the nine months ended 30 September 2019.
According to the statements released by the lender, interest income declined by 6 percent to 19.1 billion shillings weighed down by declining yields and lower average investment in government securities.
Interest income from customer loans and advances increased by 2 percent on the back of higher average volumes.
Total interest expense decreased by 24 percent to 4.4 billion shillings from the proactive management of the balance sheet.
Non-interest income was flat year on year at 7 billion shillings impacted by a slowdown in corporate finance.
Operating expenses are up 12 percent driven by investments in technology, cybersecurity, and staff.
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Loans and advances to customers remained flat at KShs 119 billion compared to December 2018 as StanChart continued to focus on higher-quality asset origination to ensure we grow our balance sheet in a sustainable manner.
Customer deposits grew modestly to 225 billion shillings compared to 224 billion shillings in December 2018.
Gross non-performing loans at 19.9 billion shillings are down 8 percent from the end of 2018. Overall credit quality has remained stable.
“We continue to focus on the quality of the balance sheet. The cover ratio of 67 percent remains above the industry average of 35 percent,” said the bank.
According to StanChart, the total capital ratio is at 18.86 percent with a prudent surplus to regulatory requirements with a liquidity ratio of 68 percent.
“We have over 70 digital services and products on our mobile app enabling over 80 percent of transactions to be conducted digitally. Close to 90% of our corporate clients are utilizing our Straight2Bank platform and over 20% of Kenya Revenue Authority tax receipts are processed through our real-time Integrated Tax Payment solution. The Bank was recently awarded ‘Best Consumer Digital Bank’ and ‘Best Bank for Cash Management’ in Kenya, 2019 by Global Finance”, said Kariuki Ngari, Chief Executive Officer.