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More local banks record profits despite increase in bad loans

Customers line up in a banking hall. Many local banks have continued to record profits for the past year although there has been an increase in bad loans. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

Losses. Imperial Bank’s losses rose from Shs1.7b in 2012 to Shs1.9b in 2013.

Kampala- Despite posting increase in the impairment losses on loans and advances, Centenary and Equity banks have joined a list of local banks that have so far reported profit growth for the year that ended December 31.

According to the published financial statements, Centenary’s net profit rose to Shs58 billion in 2013 from Shs54.9 billion the previous year while Equity’s net profit increased from Shs2.1 billion to Shs6.6 billion.

However, Centenary’s impairment losses on loans and advances went up from Shs6.4 billion to Shs9.5 billion while that of Equity Bank increased to Shs3.5 billion from Shs2.6 billion the previous year.

The growth in Centenary’s profit was supported by an increase in loans and advances which grew to Shs672.3 billion from Shs556.9 billion and customer deposits which rose from Shs818.5 billion to Shs965.9 billion over the period.

Equity Bank’s growth on the other hand is attributed to an increase in customer deposits (from Shs178.8 billion to Shs261.1 billion) interest on deposits and placements (from Shs1.3 billion to Shs2.6 billion) and fees and commission income (from Shs9.4 billion to Shs10. Billion).

Centenary Bank’s managing director Mr Fabian Kasi added that the bank’s ability to control risk through customer centricity, operational excellence and innovation, coupled with branch expansion to bank the unbanked population also contributed to profit growth.

The others are KCB Uganda, whose net profit grew six fold to Shs6.7 billion, Dfcu whose profit increased to Shs34.8 billion and Diamond Trust Bank which reported a 16.6 per cent increase in profit before tax to Shs23.55 billion, all supported by growth in the respective loan books, increases in interest income, and effective cost management among others.

So far, it is only Stanbic Bank which has reported a 22.1 per cent profit decline, with its net profit falling to Shs101.8 billion from Shs130.8 billion in 2012.