Stanbic Bank Profits Up By 39%, Set To Give A 50% Dividend Payout

Stanbic Holdings has announced a profit of 7.2 billion shillings for the year ended 31 December 2021. This represents a 39 percent increase from last year’s performance.

According to the lender, the profits were attributable to solid business momentum and various interventions that enabled the Group and its customers to weather the economic challenges occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Company also announced a 2.9 billion shillings final dividend bringing the total dividend for the year to 3.6 billion shillings, considering it paid 0.7 billion shillings in interim paid in August 2021.

Once approved at the Annual General Meeting (AGM), the total dividend payout will represent 50 percent of the Company’s profit for the year and a 137 percent increase from last year’s amount.

Stanbic’s Chief Executive, Mr. Charles Mudiwa said, “Our focus has been on supporting our customers to navigate the pandemic and drive sustainable business growth. We are glad to have achieved this objective courtesy of our dedicated team and strong partnerships with our customers.”

Looking at the institution’s strategy for the year, Stanbic rolled out various solutions that have improved client experience and expediency while driving scale in the retail segment.

The solutions range from the ease and convenience created by their digital customer onboarding solution, the flexibility to buy motor insurance in less than 10 minutes through the Stansure app, and digital lending on Stanbic’s mobile app among others. This drove digital penetration with over 85 percent of new accounts being opened digitally and a 4 times increase in the number of accounts opened daily.

The Group’s customer loans went up by 17 percent to 185 billion shillings in the reporting period, signaling its unwavering support to its customers to help them grow and realize their full potential.

Customer deposits also grew by a double-digit (11 percent) to 242 billion shillings demonstrating the trust customers have in the institution. Credit quality improved evidenced by a reduction in the credit loss ratio to 1.4 percent in 2021 from 3.01 percent in 2020.

Looking at engagements with key stakeholders, Stanbic has initiated several partnership agreements centered around socio-economic development in the country.

Remaining true to its purpose of driving Kenya’s economic growth, Stanbic partnered with Microsoft Kenya and the Ministry of Trade and Industrialization through the Stanbic Kenya Foundation to support over 50,000 individuals and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by providing capacity building and equipping them with digital and business skills through the FutureNiDigital campaign.

It further partnered with United States African Development Foundation (USADF) to provide grants amounting to KES 33million to MSMEs, cooperatives, and producer groups in Kenya. This is part of the USD 10 million funds that have been set aside to help position Kenyan businesses for success. Stanbic also donated 430 computers to support digital skills training that will help SMEs and MSMEs upskill themselves and be able to position their businesses better in a digital world.

As part of the Group’s health efforts, Stanbic partnered with the Population Service Kenya (PSK) and Tunza Clinic to carry out cancer screenings, reaching over 10,000 individuals from low-income areas in Kenya who do not have access to affordable healthcare. In addition, the Group has helped distribute over 161K of personal protective equipment (PPE) and trained 845 Health practitioners on Business Resilience.

The Group continues to champion women entrepreneurs through its flagship DADA program, which supports women in their financial and non-financial endeavors. This year, Stanbic celebrated the second DADA anniversary having signed up over 29,000 women and have further trained over 10,000 individuals and business owners on business best practices.

Under its green financing focus, Stanbic facilitated the issuance of the first-ever Green Bond in Kenya by Acorn in 2019, making it the most impactful and sustainably led project finance deal in the nation’s history. This year, Stanbic and SBG Securities led the arrangement and placement of Acorn’s second tranche of its Green Bond, as a Medium-Term Note Programme.

In recognition of Stanbic’s innovation and commitment to the growth and development of Kenya, the Bank was awarded the Best Trade Finance Bank in Kenya and the Best Investment Bank in Kenya at the GTR Leaders in Trade Country Awards for 2021 and Euro Money Awards for Excellence 2021. Stanbic was also the 1^st Runners in East Africa and Best Bank in Kenya for Best Presented Annual Report at the 2021 FiRE Awards and the 2^nd Best Integrated Report in the Region at the 2021 CGISA / JSE Integrated Reporting Awards.

Mr. Mudiwa further added that the Group will continue to build its client-centricity. ”Our goal is to maintain this positive momentum and continue to build on our client-centric strategy to ensure resilience, growth, and remain competitive in this dynamic operating environment.”

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