NMB net interest income up 30 percent

NMB Holdings net interest income for the four months to April 30 increased 30 percent compared to same period last year while non-interest income also surged 83 percent on prior year.

Operating income for the period increased 53 percent to $19.2 million from same period last year.

“The increase in net interest income was driven by an 18 percent jump in interest income and a 13 percent reduction in interest expense,” chief executive Benefit Washaya said in a trading update at the company’s annual general meeting.

He added that the increase in non-interest income resulted largely from increased transactional revenues due to the increase in the number of accounts and the migration of transactional activity to the digital platforms.

Operating expenses for the period were up 14 percent mainly due to IT related costs and depreciation associated with IT systems upgrades.

Washaya said the bad and doubtful debts charge at $515 000 were 48 percent below same period last year due to increased collections, less NPL downgrades in the period due to a generally cleaner book.

Cost to income ratio was 55 percent compared to 73 percent in the four months of 2017 due largely to the increase in operating income.

The bank’s NPL ratio dropped to 6.62 percent from 12.82 percent last year same period due to aggressive collections.

“We are confident that we will achieve our target of 5 percent by 31 December 2018,” he said.

Washaya said with the improved optimism in the country, which could possibly be buttressed by a free and fair election, the group expect 2018 performance to surpass prior year performance as the group is currently operating above its profit after tax budget. – The Source

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