Stanbic profits fall despite rise in advances, deposits

Stanbic Bank profits for the year to December 2019 have taken a nosedive despite most major performance indicators being up. According to the lender’s financial results, which were released over the weekend, profit after tax closed at P140million down significantly from P252 million realised the year before.

Nonetheless, the unlisted bank which is led by Sam Minta, saw its total income jumping by 16 percent to close at P1.1 billion year on year. Despite an increase on the key lending rate by Bank of Botswana last year, Stanbic managed to grow loans and advances to P12.7 billion from P11.5 billion last year.

Personal and business banking performed well during the period under review. The bank deposits grew to P13.8 billion from P12 billion the year before.  Like other peers in the market, Stanbic which is a subsidiary of Standard Bank group has invested heavily on its digital banking platforms. The investment is now bearing fruits.

"Revenue contribution from our digital platforms continues to grow as clients shift their transactional activities to electronic banking," said the bank promising more products and solutions in this revenue stream. Meanwhile, credit impairment charges ballooned more than threefold to P389 million from P94 million the year before. Total operations cost remained flat at P554 million. Despite a reduced profit for the year and the challenges that come with COVID-19, the bank remains upbeat.