KBA says banking industry sound despite pandemic shocks
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KBA CEO Habil Olaka/CFM

Finance

KBA says banking industry robust despite pandemic shocks

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 27 – A new report by Kenya Bankers Association says the country’s banking industry is sound and stable despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Kenya Bankers Association’s (KBA) State of the Banking Industry (SBI) report indicates that the sector’s overall profitability and contributions to the national budget declined to a nine-year low in 2020 on the back of the COVID-19’s negative impact on the economy.

This is particularly in sectors such as trade, manufacturing, and agriculture sectors where banks have restructured a majority of assets.

The report reveals that banks’ profits before tax dropped by 30.9 percent — the lowest level since the year 2012, attributable to a depressed economic performance and quality of assets held by banks during the year.

In the period, provisioning for loan losses increased by 47.5 percent to Kshs.198.1 billion from Kshs.134.3 billion in 2019, with loan loss accommodations absorbing 45.7 percent of non-performing loans compared to 40.2
percent in 2019.

The industry’s average Return on Assets declined to 2 percent, a pace faster than trend declines noted over the past few years.

In addition, the industry’s average Return on Equity scaled down to 13.3 percent from an average of 21.1 percent recorded in 2019.

According to the KBA-SBI Report, banks have been committed to supporting the Government on its COVID Economic Recovery plan with a focus on key sectors that drive output and employment, particularly the trade sector.

Compared to other sectors, the banking industry’s financial performance in 2020 saw a lower total income growth following rising operating costs largely driven by increased expenses on loan loss provisions.

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The industry’s net interest margin also dipped marginally as the cost of funding, on average, remained largely unchanged. These developments differed across bank sizes.

The report also indicates that despite the growth slowdown, the industry continued to withstand market shocks arising from the pandemic.

The KBA-SBI Report indicates that the sector’s outlook for the year 2021 appears stable, supported by adequate capitalization and liquidity levels.

The industry’s total capital adequacy ratio rose to 19 percent in 2020 from 18.8 percent in 2019, above the statutory minimum requirement of 14.5 percent, supported by an increase in the total capital which outpaced the growth in total risk-weighted assets during the period.

KBA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Habil Olaka said the banking sector players continue to review and enhance their business models, seeking to leverage on frameworks that promise efficiency gains, particularly through adoption of technology-based innovations.

“Cognizant of market risk, growing competition, the increasing sophistication of customer expectations, as well as the dynamism in the regulatory environment, the overarching challenge for the industry is to continue investing resources towards remaining at the frontier while underpinning economic recovery,’’ Dr. Olaka said.

The banking sector’s total assets expanded by 12.4 percent in 2020, to Kshs. 5.4 trillion from Kshs. 4.8 trillion in 2019, driven by a faster expansion in non-loan assets — mainly investments in government securities — which grew by 18.5 percent as gross loans and advances rose by 6.7 percent.

Net loans and advances increased by 9.1 percent in 2020 to close at Kshs. 2.93 trillion from Kshs. 2.63 trillion in 2019.

However, the asset composition saw minimal changes in the year.

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Meanwhile, the banking system’s deposits maintained a strong growth trajectory, expanding by 13.1 percent up from 8.3 percent in 2019 to close at Sh4.11 trillion.

This was reflective of asset reallocation driven by high uncertainty. The buildup of deposits during the year outpaced gross loans growth, enhancing liquidity in the banking system.

The industry’s deposit-to-liability ratio rose marginally to 88.5 percent in 2020 from 88.1 percent in 2019, indicating the sector’s strong reliance on wholesale funding to cut costs on the liability side of the balance sheet.

Kenya Bankers Association Research and Policy Director Dr. Samuel Tiriongo said analyses of banks’ tax contribution showed the industry contributed Kshs. 42.4 billion in 2020 down from Sh55.4 billion in 2019, largely reflecting the depressing effects of the pandemic on incomes.

“While this represents a 23.6 percent drop in the tax contribution, it highlights the extent to which the sector would have contributed more to tax revenue had it not borne most of the weight of supporting other sectors of the economy. In fact, the implicit tax rate of the industry rose to 39.1 percent in 2020 from 35.7 percent in 2019,’’ added Dr. Tiriongo.

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