According to a press release, Diamond Trust Bank (DTB) has seen a 21 percent increase in net profit for the nine months ending in September. Because of a significant increase in foreign exchange trading profits and interest payments from loans and government securities.
Lender listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) reports nine-month profit of Sh6.2 billion, up from Sh5.1 billion in the same period last year. Loans and Treasury bills and bonds generated handsome returns, increasing the bank’s net interest income from Sh14.7 billion to Sh16.8 billion.
Total non-interest income increased from Sh4.7 billion to Sh6.8 billion as a result of gains in foreign exchange trading, dividends from investments, fees, and commissions on loans.
DTB’s total assets grew to Sh507 billion, up from Sh434 billion, thanks in large part to an increase in lending; the bank’s net loans rose to Sh243.6 billion, up from Sh205.5 billion. The bank’s non-performing loans (NPLs) keep rising, though, with gross bad loans jumping to Sh32.9 billion from Sh25.7 billion.
As a result of the increased likelihood of loan defaults in the current economic climate, the lender raised loan loss provisions from Sh9.3 billion to Sh12.9 billion. Despite the fact that the number of nonperforming loans held by banks has begun to decline as a result of proactive measures taken by these institutions, such as the auctioning off of collateral, this is the case.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), the amount of bad loans decreased by Sh13.2 billion between August and September, bringing the total to Sh491.8 billion. The margin fell by the most in a single month in over 15 years.
For the nine months ending in September, banks’ profit before taxes increased by 28.5%, thanks to the significant growth of interest and non-funded income and the implementation of cost-cutting measures. DTB posts Sh6.2 billion profit, up 21 percent in nine months
