NAIROBI: One of Kenya’s biggest commercial banks, KCB, recently reported a 10% rise in total earnings despite instability in South Sudan.
KCB Group Chairman, Ngeny Biwott said, “We had a relatively tough macroeconomic and political environment in most of the markets the bank operates. In South Sudan and Burundi, we had economic shocks due to political tensions.
“Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania were hit by currency depreciation and high inflation while Rwanda was relatively stable,” he told a news conference last week.
He added however, “We see a brighter outlook in terms of the bank’s growth trajectory in the coming years across all the markets.”
The CEO Joshua Oigara said the impressive growth was supported by an increase in net interest income by (13.5%),g rowth in gross fees and commissions (21%) attributable to new products and higher transactions volumes.
“We have consistently focused on growing new business lines and strengthening the subsidiaries to drive the business to higher profitability and guarantee its sustainability. This is bearing fruit as seen in the increased earnings,” Oigara said.
“As we gradually transform the business into a stronger regionalplayer, we will continue seeking new partnerships and strengtheningthe existing ones.
“This is what is driving our profitability as abusiness. We have in place a model to enhance operationalcompetencies, revenue generation and drive greater efficiencies across the markets,” he said.
