Kenya’s leading bank by asset value, KCB Group, has posted a 43% drop in net profit for the nine months that ended on 30th September 2020 to KSh 10.9 billion, from KSh19.2 billion posted in the same period the year before.
The lender attributes the weak financial performance to a big jump in loan loss provisions which moved from KSh5.8 billion to KSh 20 billion as a result of the increased risk of credit default linked to the Covid19 pandemic.
“This has been a challenging period for the business, staff, customers & the economy. Our focus has been on keeping our staff & customers safe while at the same time giving business support to the communities we operate in as well as our customers,” said KCB Group CEO Joshua Oigara
The bank’s net interest income increased by 24% to KSh 47.9 Billion from KSh 38.7 Billion recorded in Q3 2019. Customer deposits expanded by 32% to KSh 772 billion while loans to customers grew by 19% to KSh 577.5 billion.
KCB’s non performing loans more than doubled to KSh97 billion from KSh42.6 billion reported in Q3 2019.
KCB Group acquired troubled National Bank in September 2019. The Group’s Chief Financial Officer lauded the progress made by National Bank saying, “NBK is a good turnaround story….we are looking to close the year with about a billion of profitability out of NBK, just a year after acquiring it.”
