Diamond Trust Bank Group recorded a 20.1 percent jump in net earnings in the six months to June this year, helped by a rise in interest and non-interest income.
The lender’s net profit in the review period stood at Sh3.15 billion compared to Sh2.62 billion the year before.
Its interest income increased six percent to Sh9.82 billion as its loan book and investments in government debt increased.
DTB’s non-interest income, mainly derived from fees and commissions on loans and advances, rose 5.5 percent to Sh3.32 billion.
Its loan loss provisions increased by 23.9 percent to Sh2.31 billion from Sh1.87 billion as the stock of gross defaults rose from Sh17.54 billion to Sh22.2 billion.
The increased provisioning contributed to total operating expenses rising 3.7 percent to Sh8.27 billion.
DTB joins the industry trend where half-year profits have rebounded from a fall witnessed last year on the back of Covid-19 disruptions.
All the tier I lenders, including KCB, Equity, Co-operative Bank, Stanbic, Absa and Standard Chartered Bank have posted profit growths, signalling a recovery from last year’s hit.
Central Bank of Kenya data showed that commercial banks’ six-month profits before tax jumped 61 percent to Sh96.4 billion—the all-time high—in a period majority of them increased government paper holdings.
Relaxed Covid-19 control measures such as reduced curfew hours, free movement across counties, and expanded operating hours for bars and hotels have helped many sectors recover.
The softened measures have offered a boost to sectors such as aviation, tourism, manufacturing and hospitality, allowing them to repay loans and tap into fresh credit to fund recovery and growth.
The half-year earnings for 2021 have now surpassed the pre-Covid high of Sh85.8 billion recorded in the first six months of 2019.
