Bank’s Deficient Loans Drop by 83 Percent

A reduction in loan impairment by 83 percent saw Standard Chartered post Sh5.4 billion net profit for the half year ended 30 June 2022. 

It represents 11 percent growth in profits from Sh4.9 billion posted in the same period last year.

Financial results released Monday indicate that the firm also reported a loan impairment of Sh108 million compared to Sh638 million posted in the same period in 2021.

Re-opening of the economy following pandemic related lockdowns, coupled with a conducive environment saw customer deposits grow as funding quality remained high. Current and savings accounts made up 92 percent of total customer deposits.

Stanchart Chief Executive Officer Kariuki Ngari says the strong momentum on income and low expected credit losses mitigated the 18 percent year-on-year increase in costs arising from our continued investment spend in transformational digital capabilities.

The firms operating expenses this year grew to Sh7.9 billion from Sh6.7 billion on account of increased spending on infrastructure upgrade. 

“We have delivered a strong set of results for the first half of the year with income up 10 percent. We’ve seen healthy business momentum driving top line growth with double-digit growth in net interest income and strong performance in Wealth Management and Financial Markets products,” said Ngari.

Non-interest income increased 11 percent to Sh5.5 billion with strong performance in Wealth Management and Financial Markets products. The lender’s net interest income also increased 10 percent to Sh10 billion due to higher asset volumes and an expansion in net interest margin.

Customer sentiment saw wealth management volumes grow to deliver income growth of 25 percent compared to the first half of 2021.

The lender remained well capitalised during the period under review, with a highly liquid balance sheet, with a total capital ratio of 17.73 percent.

“We have delivered a strong financial performance in the first half of the year. However, external conditions remain difficult to predict, as we have seen geopolitical and macroeconomic volatility that has adversely impacted the global economic environment,” noted Ngari.

Lender did not however declare any interim dividend to its shareholders.