SBM Bank profit jumps to Sh66m in first quarter
Lewis Njoka @LewisNjoka
Growth in loans, advances and customer deposits saw SBM Bank reported a 7.7 per cent increase in profit before tax to Sh66 million for the first quarter of 2020.
The bank was known as Fidelity Commercial Bank until 2017 when it was acquired by Mauritania’s SBM Holdings with a condition to inject Sh2 billion capital.
SBM Holdings paid only Sh100 to purchase Fidelity, according to regulatory filings it made at the Mauritius Stock Exchange on November 22, 2016.
Chief Executive Officer, Moezz Mir said the bank is on a steady growth trajectory and anticipate continued growth by supporting clients and finding opportunities within the current environment.
“The bank has a strong capital and liquidity base to support growth of business and our digital offering is strong and robust to support contactless transactions,’’ he added in a statement.
The bank, Mir said has embarked on a calculated strategy towards ensuring that it provides relevant solutions to the client segments in the consumer, small and medium enterprises (SME) and corporate arenas.
Digital offerings
“We provide this through our network of 52 branches spread across the country, and through our digital offerings,” he added.
The statement from the bank shows that net loans and advances increased to Sh20.87 billion up from 13.04 billion during the period under review, a 60 per cent growth.
Customer deposits increased from to Sh55.7 billion up from Sh51.3 billion, a nine per cent growth compared to the previous year.
In the past year, the bank has grown its total assets by 11 per cent to Sh78.1 billion up from Sh70.2 billion in March 2019.
The bank has high liquidity (68.9 per cent), hence, the capacity to lend to customers, with Sh42.1 billion invested in government securities.
