NBC Bank now out of the woods in Q3

Dar es Salaam. The net profit for the National Bank of Commerce (NBC) jumped by 367 per cent during the third quarter of 2019 as the bank embarked on cost-cutting measures while improving its loans portfolio.

NBC registered a Sh3.1 billion net profit during the third quarter of the year, up from the net loss of Sh5.56 billion made in a similar period last year.

But, it cut the amount of bad debts that had been written off from Sh11.539 billion during the third quarter of 2018 to only Sh1.278 billion during the third quarter of 2019.

Also, non-performing loans (NPLs) were reduced to 6.9 per cent during the 2019 third quarter, down from 10.1 per cent as of September 2018.

“Our impressive performance for the last nine months is mainly attributed to our ongoing cost savings and efficiency drive, as well as increased fees income from transactional activities and improved quality of the loans portfolio,” the NBC managing director, Mr Theobald Sabi, said in a statement reelased yesterday.

NBC’s net loans and advances stood at Sh987 billion, while customers’ deposits stood at Sh1.717 trillion as of September 30, 2019.

The increase in net loans and advances was attributed to additional loan bookings from the bank’s corporate, retail and business clients, Mr Sabi, said.

“Our continued focus on onboarding quality loans has started to pay off - resulting in lower impairment charges for the third quarter of the year,” he said.

The bank’s Digital Transformation agenda continued to deliver impressive results, thereby contributing to its bottom line results, Mr Sabi stated.

Mobile Banking transactions grew by 50 per cent compared to last year alone.

“Our objective is to provide convenient services to our customers and other clients. We want then all to be able to bank or transact wherever they are without having to visit bank halls. We also want them to enjoy the different services and products that we have built into our digital platforms,” said Mr Sabi

The Online and Mobile Banking propositions have become popular electronic channels that are widely used by retail (individual) and corporate clients.

The bank provides digital banking facilities for individuals, SMEs, government agencies and corporate bodies with convenient and efficient cash collections and payment solutions,” Mr. Sabi stressed.

Another fast-growing electronic channel is the ‘NBC Wakala’ - NBC Agency banking - whose membership has grown to over 2,000 agents spread across the country. In that regard, customers are now able to access their accounts and make payments with greater convenience through the growing NBC Wakala footprint. The agents are now GePG-compliant - and customers can settle their dues to the Government through the NBC Wakala network.

Indeed, NBC is now among the leading banks in government revenue collections through GePG.

“Our electronic channels are Government electronic Payment Gateway (GePG)-compliant, thus offering our customers the choice to settle government levies and fees through our convenient electronic channels,” Mr. Sabi enthused.