Stanbic Bank posts impressive profits

Published: 30 March 2018
STANBIC Bank Zimbabwe has shrugged off the prevailing harsh economic environment to post an impressive set of results for the year ended December 2017 headlined by a profit after tax of $27.6 million, up 30 percent from the prior year's $21.2 million.

Chairman, Gregory Sebborn, attributed the performance to the returns on the various interest earning instruments that the leading financial services institution invested in.

In a statement accompanying the results, Sebborn said income earned from the growing transaction volumes on the various innovative electronic channels that Stanbic Bank offers as well as good recoveries on previously downgraded facilities contributed significantly to the bank's performance.

He said the operating environment presented a plethora of challenges such as broad money supply growth, which grew by 47.97 percent to $8.02 billion in October 2017 compared to $5.42 billion in November 2016.

Other challenges included erratic rainfall patterns for the 2017 season, which affected income from the agricultural sector, the fiscal budget deficit which grew from 2.5 percent of GDP in 2014 to 10 percent by 2016 and is expected to increase further in 2018 mainly due to increased quasi-fiscal activities and expenditures related to the election process.

Sebborn said although the export performance during the first nine months of 2017 improved by an estimated 19 percent compared to same period in 2016, bolstered by increased gold, chrome and ferrochrome exports, other key foreign currency sources such as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), international remittances and portfolio investments remain significantly subdued.

"Despite these challenges in the macroeconomic environment, the bank continued to sustain growth in profitability, closing the year with a profit after tax of $27.6 million which was 30 percent ahead of the prior period profit after tax of $21.2 million," said Sebborn.

As at 31 December 2017, Stanbic Bank's qualifying core capital stood at $134.3 million, up from $106.6 million in 2016, against the regulatory minimum of $25 million and ahead of the $100 million threshold set for the year 2020.
- zimpapers
Tags: Stanbic,

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