I&M bank profit drops by 2% to KES 7.0 billion

Speaking on the Group’s half year 2023 performance, the Group’s Regional CEO, Mr. Kihara Maina was positive about the Group’s forecast for the second half of 2023 on the back of a robust Group adoption of the iMara 2.0 strategy. “As we complete the final year of our iMara 2.0 strategy, we remain confident in the progress we have made in further steering I&M Group as Eastern Africa’s leading financial partner for growth. We shall continue to invest in rolling out solutions that meet our customer needs. In line with this, plans are ongoing to roll out an end-to-end Trade Finance platform and a Bancassurance system,” said Mr. Maina.

By Steve UMIDHA On Aug 24, 2023

By Phyllis MUCHOKI

I&M bank Thursday posted a 2 per cent drop in profit to KES 7.0 billion in the first half of the year, despite growing its sheet grew with a total asset base crossing the KES 500 billion mark by 17 percent compared to the same period last year.

The fall in revenue earnings was attributed to aa drastic increase in loan loss provisions, with the Group’s operating expenses, exclusive of loan loss provisions, rising to KES 9.3 billion, an increase of 28 percent year on year driven by continued investment in technology and people across all jurisdictions.

The lender’s operating income however, grew by 23% to KES 19.1 billion in the first half of 2023, up from KES 15.6 billion in the same period in 2022 – boosted by growth in both corporate and retail segments (29% and 28% year on year growth respectively) as it saw its diversification strategy yield fruit.

“In the first half of the year, our focus centered on providing relevant financial solutions designed for Kenyans.

This included waiving of Bank to mobile wallet charges with the Ni Sare Kabisa campaign to cushion Kenyans against the high cost of living, the Unsecured Personal Loan of up to KES 10 million, Digital Unsecured Lending for personal customers and small businesses and Stock Financing.

We take pride in our customer-centricity and plan to roll out several new branches over the next couple of months as we seek to move our financial services closer to our customers,” said Mr. Khan.

Regional performance

Regional subsidiaries of the Group continued to grow steadily, with operating income contribution increasing to 27% from 25% in 2022. For the period ending 30th June 2023, 78.4% of I&M Group customers across the region were digitally active.

I&M Rwanda reported a 15% increase in operating income for the period under review. The Bank’s strong performance was driven by increased economic activity in the region, with loans and deposits growing by 9% and 11% respectively, which led to growth in net interest income and non-funded income.

In Tanzania, I&M recorded a 56% increase in operating income to close at KES 1.4 billion and 108% increase in operating profit on the back of strong growth in total assets of 24%. Asset growth was supported by loans growth of 19% while deposits increased by 22%.

I&M Uganda posted strong growth in operating income of 42% and an operating profit of 117%, as it continues integrating into the Group.

Total assets reported a 28% year on year growth to close at KES 33 billion, with growth in the loan and deposit book at 42% and 13% respectively.

The Group’s Joint Venture investment in Mauritius, Bank One, recorded a growth of 51% in operating income year on year, driven by the growth of the loan portfolio as well as higher Non-Interest Income.