Author: Martin Mwita

Barclays Bank (Kenya) has registered a flat growth in profit for the first quarter of 2019 as ongoing rebranding to Absa continues to impact its balance sheet.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) listed lender has reported a Ksh1.89 billion (US$18.7million) net profit for the period under review, a marginal 0.5 per cent growth compared to Ksh1.88billion (US$18.6million) posted in a similar period last year.

READ:Barclays Bank Q1 profit up 8% despite squeeze on loan book

This is despite gains on interest earnings and reduced expenses during the quarter.

Quarterly results published through the NSE shows total interest income edged up 7.2 per cent to close at Ksh7.4 billion (US$73million), compared to Ksh6.9 billion (US$68million) posted in Q1 of 2018.

Interest income from loans and advances to customers was Ksh5.4 billion, a 3.8 per cent up from Ksh5.2 billion in a corresponding period last year.

That from government securities and …

KCB Group shareholders have approved the proposal to acquire 100 per cent of the issued ordinary shares of National Bank of Kenya Limited (NBK) via share swap.

This approval follows the offer made by KCB Group on April 18, 2019 to acquire the shares of struggling NBK by way of a share swap of 10 ordinary shares of NBK for every one ordinary share of KCB. The transaction is subject to regulatory and NBK shareholders approvals.

The acquisition is part of KCB’s ongoing strategy to explore opportunities for new growth while investing in and maximizing the returns from its existing businesses, the management has said.

“For us, the acquisition is an opportunity to strengthen the deposit base and lending capacity, increase cost efficiencies due to economies of scale and boost transactional revenue through leveraging of technology. NBK maintains a strong deposit franchise and a wide branch network,” said KCB

Group …

Equity Bank emerged as the overall best bank in Kenya for the eighth time at this year’s Think Business Banking Awards, with Equity Group Managing Director and CEO James Mwangi scooping the CEO of the Year Award for the third time consecutively.

READ:Why Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi was named Banker of the year, again

Equity Bank bagged 18 awards, garnering the top slots in 12 categories – Best Bank in Tier 1, Best Bank with the lowest charges for individuals, the most customer-centric bank, best bank in mobile banking, best in internet banking, best agency banking, best in product marketing and the best bank in SME banking.

Others are best bank in agriculture and livestock financing, best commercial bank in micro finance, best in CSR, and best lender in digital banking.

The awards validate Equity Bank’s strategy and pursuit of financial inclusion while giving customers freedom, choice and …

After more than three years of waiting, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has received regulatory approvals to proceed with the launch of the derivatives market.

This follows the successful conclusion of the Derivatives Market Pilot Test and subsequent submissions to the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

READ:Investors to commence derivatives trading at Nairobi bourse

NSE now sees the launch of the Derivatives Market as a significant milestone in the growth and deepening of the country’s’ capital markets and the wider Kenyan economy.

“Derivatives Markets provide new opportunities to investors, enabling them to better diversify their portfolios and allow for the efficient deployment of capital. Furthermore, through the Derivatives Market, investors will be able to form expectations about underlying assets in order to manage the price risks,” NSE Chief executive Geoffrey Odundo has noted.

This initiative makes the NSE the second African Exchange to …

The World Bank Board of Directors has approved a US$750 million (Ksh75.9 billion) International Development Association (IDA) credit for Kenya, in the latest move by the global lender to channel funds to the East Africa State.

A member of the World Bank Group headquartered in Washington D.C, IDA is an international financial institution which offers concessional loans and grants to the world’s poorest developing countries

The loan comes amid concerns over the country’s ballooning public debt which crossed the Ksh5.1 trillion (US$50.4 billion) mark in September 2018, with possibilities of going Ksh5.6 trillion (US$55.4 billion by close of the year.

READ:Tough times: Kenya piles Kshs 2.5 billion debt in a day

On Tuesday, Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) governor Patrick Njoroge said the country’s headroom for new borrowing has shrunk since it tapped the US$2.1 billion Eurobond earlier this month, which part of it has gone towards debt refinancing.…

Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) has posted a 9.4 per cent growth in net profit for the first quarter ended March, buoyed by returns from investment in government securities and non-funded revenue.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) listed lender closed the period with a Ksh1.97 billion profit after tax compared to Ksh1.80 billion posted last year.

The Group defied a tough operating environment to build customer deposits to Ksh275 billion, while the asset base grew to Ksh370 billion, entrenching the DTB’s position as a leading tier one bank in Kenya and the wider East African region.

On the back of an industry-wide subdued growth in loans, the group’s investment in Treasury Bills and Treasury Bonds grew to Ksh124 billion at the end of March 2019, compared to Ksh118 billion at the same time last year.

DTB’s non- performing loan book declined marginally to Ksh12.4 billion, from Ksh13.2 billion a year earlier, …

The Kenyan government has once again gone to the market with its unique mobile phone based bond M-Akiba, as it seeks to raise funds to support infrastructure development in the country.

In a second issue this year, the National Treasury has re-opened the retail infrastructure bond as targeting to raise Ksh250 million (US$2.47million).

The bond was opened to the public on Monday, May 27, and will run up to Friday June 7, 2019. The value date shall be on Monday, June 10, 2019 and will start trading at the NSE on Tuesday, June 11, 2019, the government has said.

“Following the successful uptake of M-Akiba Retail Infrastructure Bond in March which attracted 79 per cent subscription rate, The National Treasury, the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation and the Nairobi Securities Exchange have jointly reopened the M-Akiba Retail Infrastructure Bond Issue No MAB/2/2017/03 to offer Kenyans another opportunity to invest in …

The Kenyan government has now resorted to vetting of importers and exporters of consolidated cargo in the latest move to curb tax evasion.

This comes in the wake of recent piling of cargo at the Nairobi Inland Container Deport (ICD) as authorities opted for 100 per cent verification on containers with consolidated goods.

This is on suspicion of under-declaration and misdeclaration by traders in a tax evasion racket that has been denying the government revenues amounting to billions of shillings.

Rogue state officials have been accused of colluding with unscrupulous traders to facilitate false declarations, denying the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) requisite taxes, such as import duty, a move said to have led to a loss of over Ksh100 billion(US$987.8million) in the recent past.

They are also said to allow in counterfeits into the market and through the transit route into the hinterland in exchange for kickbacks.

The verification process …

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has received a go-ahead to collect more than Ksh2.7billion (US$26.7 million) worth of monthly taxes on withholding tax on winnings from Sportpesa.

This follows a ruling by Milimani Commercial Courts Chief Magistrate, Peter Gesora, allowing KRA to collect withholding taxes on winnings from betting games on the Sportpesa platform among others, that have been failing to withhold tax on winnings.

The landmark ruling delivered on Thursday, May 23, 2019 arose from a 2014 suit filed by a Mr. Benson Irungu against Sportpesa Ltd trading as Pevans East Africa.

READ:Why Kenya will not collect taxes from sports betting

The suit sought to stop Sportpesa from deducting and remitting taxes arising from Mr Irungu’s and any other person’s winnings.

In his ruling last Thursday, Chief Magistrate Gesora while dismissing Mr Irungu’s case noted that the nature of sports betting, winnings are unpredictable and a player cannot …

In yet another review of the country’s macroeconomics, Kenya’s Central Bank has held the benchmark lending rate at 9 per cent, meaning banks in the country will continue giving loans with a maximum interest rate of 13 per cent.

This is under the Banking Act which caps lending rates at four percentage points above the CBK rate.

The decision was reached on Monday by CBK’s decision making organ-Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which meets every two months to review the outcome of its previous policy decisions and recent economic developments.

The meeting was held against a backdrop of domestic macroeconomic stability, sustained optimism on the economic growth prospects, improving weather conditions in most parts of the country and increased uncertainties in the global financial markets.

This is the sixth time the MPC is retaining the benchmark rate at nine per cent after bringing it down from 9.5 per cent in July …