FNB posts K39.9m profit

FIRST National Bank (FNB) Zambia Limited recorded an increase in profit after tax of K39.9 million compared to 35.6 million recorded in 2017, company secretary Theresa Liswaniso- Kampata has said.

Ms Kampata said the increase in profitability was mainly due to significant growth in net interest income and non-interest revenue.

“Net interest income was boosted by lower interest expense on the back of increased market liquidity as result of loosening of monetary policy by the Central Bank which saw drop in interest rates in the market.

“Higher non-interest revenue was mainly driven by higher structuring income as well as income from services fees,” Ms Kampata said.

Ms Kampata said the good performance was however dampened by higher credit impairments in 2018 of K172.4 million and K 80.4 million in 2017 partly due to implementation of new international financial reporting standard.

“During the year 2018, the bank launched bancassurance, an insurance products offering travel insurance, family protection and hospital cash pay-out to insurance customers. This is in line with the bank’s goal to be a one stop financial solution provider,” she said.

Ms Kampata said the bancassurance proposition included stand-alone and embedded insurance products with key objectives of supporting customer acquisition, balance sheet growth and introducing additional revenue streams.

The bank also launched the savings pocket linked to a transactional account to replace the original savings offering targeted at customers wishing to save end earn attractive interest on their savings,”

— Ms Kampata.

“The bank also launched the savings pocket linked to a transactional account to replace the original savings offering targeted at customers wishing to save end earn attractive interest on their savings,” she said