Lender KCB has released its FY 2019 financials in an event that was held earlier today.
The bank reported 5 percent profit after tax to KES 25.2 billion, following net earnings growth from KES 24 billion in 2018. The total operating income grew by 17 percent from KES 71.8 billion to KES 84.3 billion.
KCB has also lauded its operational efficiency with a 10 percent jump in operating expenses from KES 35 billion to KES 38.5 billion. The same efficiency was reported for cost to income ratio at 45.7 percent, as well as cost of funds that rose to 3.2 percent from 2.8 percent.
Digital channels
Local banks are taking advantage of digital channels to expand their portfolios, and KCB is no different. The bank reported enhanced investments in digital channels that helped push non-funded income by 22.6 percent from KES 23.0 billion in 2018 to 28.2 billion.
In 2019, KCB’s number of non-bank transactions rose to 97 percent. The lion’s share of the transactions was conducted on mobile devices, that is, through the KCB mobile app, agency banking and STK-associated menus.
Mobile loans, which are some of the hotly contested products in the country, grew to KES 212 billion from 54 billion disbursed in 2018. The cumulative mobile loans disbursed by the bank in the last five years added to KES 319 billion.
What CEO Joshua Oigara said
-The East African region continued to face various downside risks that ranged from adverse weather patterns to stress from currency fluctuations and the pressure from oil imports” he said while releasing the results in Nairobi on Thursday. “All business lines were strong on both funded and non-funded income as cost control, operational efficiency and driving excellent customer experience remained a top priority.
-Our investments in diversified channels are giving our customers a means to get access to banking services conveniently, at a competitive price and in line with our purpose of simplifying their world to enable their progress.
