BancABC Zimbabwe, the local banking subsidiary of Pan African group, Atlas Mara has published financial results for the 2019 financial year. Banc ABCs press material proudly notes that the financial institution posted an operating income of ZW$486m.
The operating income grew by 869% from $54m the previous though when adjusted for inflation the growth was a much lower but still impressive 136%. Profit after tax grew exponentially, to ZWL$283m in historical terms and ZWL$176m in inflation-adjusted terms, up 162% from the $67m reported in the 2018 Financial Yea
The growth in income was driven by a strong performance driven by the Bank’s Global Markets and Trading positions, focus on balance sheet management and inflation induced re-pricing assets.
CEO Lance Mambondiani
An increase in Corporate & Investment Banking units resulted in an increase in total deposits by 220% to $1bn in 2019, largely due to corporate deposit mobilisation initiatives. This is in sharp contrast to other banks like NMB which saw a 59% decline in profits in their 2019 financial year.
The role of digital banking
Mambondiani attributed a chunk of customer growth and the profits to the fact that the bank has decided to adopt channels such as WhatsApp alongside internet/mobile banking:
The bank commenced the rollout of its Digital Transformation Agenda, launching a number of innovations which include WhatsApp Banking and an enhanced mobile and internet banking platforms for both Retail and Corporate Banking customers. The improvement in digital platforms resulted in an 87% growth in the total number of customers and a 79% growth in the volume of customer transactions on the Bank’s digital platforms.
In the last few weeks, the Bank responded to the COVID-19 lockdown crisis with the launch of Branch X, a virtual branch that allows their customers to perform and access banking services through Video and Telephone Banking platforms without visiting the branch.
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