Kenya's largest bank posts 42% after-tax profits increase in 2008

Special Report:Global Financial Crisis

NAIROBI, Feb. 27 (Chinese media) -- Kenya's largest indigenous bank, the Kenya

Commercial Bank reported a 42 percent increase in after-tax profits for 2008,

posting a 4.2 billion shillings (about 52.7 million U.S. dollars) for the first

time since the beginning of its turnaround five years ago.

KCB Group's CEO Martin Oduor-Otieno said on Friday the bank, which has

subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and southern Sudan recorded a 6.01

billion pretax profit up from 4.2 billion shillings in 2007 (2.9 billion

shillings after-tax profit).

Oduor-Otieno said the bank's impressive performance was hinged on a 39

percent growth in net interest income from 8.5 billion shillings in 2007 to 11.8

billion shillings last year due to increased lending.

He noted that the total operating income had increased by 37 percent from

14.4 billion shillings in 2007 to 19.7 billion shillings last year.

"In addition to interest income, over the course of the year, we witnessed

an increase in business volumes across our branch network which pushed foreign

exchange earnings up by 94 percent and fees and commissions by 28 percent,"

Oduor-Otieno told an investor briefing in Nairobi.

He said the bank's balance sheet increased by 59 percent from 120.5 billion

shillings in 2007 to 191.2 billion shillings last year, maintaining its position

as the largest bank in the region in that respect.

Oduor-Otieno announced that the bank will further increase its presence

across the region this year with 50 new branches. The bank will also install 100

ATMs across Eastern Africa.

KCB has 185 branches and 182 ATMs (292 with Pesa Point) spread across

Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, southern Sudan and Rwanda.

"We have put in place key initiatives to enable us to consolidate our

position and grow market share in the region before we embark on the Pan-African

agenda," said Oduor-Otieno.

The bank's chairman Peter Muthoka lauded the performance saying it

reflected great support from the bank's stakeholders.

"We shall continue to position KCB as the low-cost provider of financial

services to our customers through an efficient regional banking platform," said

Muthoka. He announced the bank will be venturing into Burundi before the end of

2009 to complete the East African circuit.

The bank chairman said the bank has adopted a new Pan African vision and

set in motion plans to expand into the African market from 2010.

"Work is underway to increase roadmap for that expansion which will enable

us to stake a claim in the continental market in the future," Muthoka said.