NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 25 – Standard Chartered Group profits drop by 31 percent in the first six months of 2020 as Covid-19 pandemic continue to bite.
The Bank posted Sh3.2billion in profit in the first half of the month compared to Sh4.7 billion the same period the previous year.
Interest income dropped the period under review to hit Sh2.54 billion compared to Sh2.89billion recorded the same period 2019, while non-interest income also dropped to Sh9.39 billion compared to Sh9.85 billion in the period under review.
Customer deposits went up to hit Sh256 compared to Sh228.4 billion as the country recorded nearly a million job losses due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
In a surprise move, the bank’s loan book expanded 11.9 percent to hit Sh134 billion up from Sh120 billion while the government and other securities grew 3.2 percent with the bank maintaining a very liquid balance sheet at 66.7% percent.
“Over the last 24 months, our investments in digital capabilities have been unprecedented and building on these capabilities has enabled our transaction processing to remain resilient at the back of the COVID 19 pandemic – Today, 89 percent of transactions are being conducted digitally with a 62 percent and 90 percent penetration for our Retail and Corporate clients respectively,” said Kariuki Ngari Chief Executive Standard Group.
He disclosed that 72 percent of the firms’ head office staff have continued to work from home supporting clients and ensuring there is no hold up on their banking requests.
