Stanbic Holdings has announced that it has registered a profit after tax of Ksh. 5.2 billion for the year ended 31st December 2020. This represents a reduction from the Ksh. 6.3 billion the company posted over the same period in 2019.
Total income also reduced to Ksh. 23 billion from Ksh. 24 billion in 2019 while operating expenses reduced to Ksh. 12 billion from Ksh. 13 billion.
The board of directors of the company have recommended a dividend per share of Ksh. 3.80 for the financial period ending 31st December 2020. This is reduction from Ksh. 7.05 per share paid in the same period in 2019.
The company increased its provisioning to Ksh. 4.8 billion from Ksh. 3 billion to reflect the worsening credit risk on the back of layoffs and liquidity constraints on businesses caused by the pandemic.
However, the company maintained strong balance sheet growth as evidenced by a 12% increase in customer deposits and 4% growth in customer loans and advances. Stanbic rolled out digital onboarding, allowing individual clients to open accounts remotely and transact at the convenience of their homes with 92% accounts having been opened through this channel since the launch in the 3rd quarter of 2020. The lender also made instant cash/salary advances available to clients digitally via the Stanbic App and USSD, issuing over Ksh. 685 million in loans via this digital channel.
In support of clients, Stanbic undertook various interventions to cushion against the adverse effects of the pandemic. Stanbic was the first bank in Kenya to issue loan moratoriums for individuals, SMEs and corporates, benefiting over 7,200 clients.
Stanbic restructured loans worth Ksh. 40 billion of which KES 3.1 billion were related to SMEs. Stanbic bore the costs of the restructures. Through its insurance franchise, over 400 retrenchment claims were fully paid to assist clients weather the challenges presented by COVID-19. The Group waived charges on digital channels to the tune of KES 283 million in foregone fee revenue and lowered interest rate in line with regulations saving clients KES 665 million in interest thereby reducing the interest income for the lender.
Speaking at the announcement, Chief Executive of Stanbic Bank Kenya, Charles Mudiwa said: “Despite a challenging operating environment, I am proud that Stanbic stood shoulder to shoulder with our clients and the Kenyan community when it really mattered the most. We supported clients through our DADA proposition where we onboarded over 10,000 women while issuing loans worth KES 844 million to support them and their businesses. Since the launch of the Stanbic Kenya Foundation, the Group has supported various efforts towards the national COVID-19 response. A key milestone was when we arranged one of the boldest strategic investments in Kenya’s private sector. Together with our partners, we collaboratively spent over KES 147 million in various Covid-19 relief interventions which included a donation of 192 ventilators to the Ministry of Health.”
The company has promised to continue to strengthen partnerships via the Stanbic Kenya Foundation. The foundation has over the year, trained 500 entrepreneurs, completed financial fitness academies for 9 corporates training 681 individuals. It also recently announced a partnership with Microsoft dubbed the Digital Global Skills initiative geared towards imparting technical skills to the youth to enable them to participate in the global gig economy. Health is one of the key priority areas for the Foundation. In 2020, Stanbic distributed over 1000 hand-washing stations across Kenya to promote regular hygiene practice and facilitated over 3,000 free breast cancer screening sessions.