FCB eyes fresh lines of credit
FIRST Capital Bank (FCB) says it has engaged the African Development Bank (AfDB) and Trade Development Bank (TDB) for fresh lines of credit after significant drawdowns on previous loans.
The drawdown on €12,5 million from the European Investment Bank has reached while 30 percent has been used on the US$20 million facility secured from the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
According to FCB, the funding from earlier loans was mainly directed at providing capital funding relief to various medium-sized corporate customers.
This development comes as the bank has repeatedly highlighted that it would continue to scout for new lines of credit to bolster its capacity to support the country’s productive sectors.
FCB efforts are part of the bank’s initiatives to unlock the capabilities of the company’s core banking system to realise value for our stakeholders.
“The €12, 5 million EIB line of credit was 81 percent fully drawn during the period under review. A further US$20 million line of credit has been mobilised with the Afreximbank with US$6 million already drawn down as of 31 December 2023.
“The bank continues to engage various financiers for additional lines of credit with African Development Bank and Trade Development Bank at varying stages,” said FCB chief executive officer Mr Tapera Mushoriwa in the statement of results for the year to December 2023.
He said several initiatives were in the pipeline as the bank sought to unlock potential.
These initiatives will include USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) platform upgrade, Zimra on mobile facility, US dollar POS acquisition, US dollar-denominated bill payments, security enhancements, Zinara licensing in-branch, and strategic alliances with global brands such as Emirates.
“Our approach began with the enhancements of existing platforms to significantly improve the service experience and bring more relevant options.”
New products such as sole trader accounts, low-cost accounts, host-to-host, a seamless payments platform for corporates, USD Individual and Group savings were introduced in 2023.
Operationally, the bank’s total comprehensive income for the year to December 2023 amounted to US$16, 6 million which is 20 percent lower than the US$20, 7 million reported in 2022.
This was credited to higher fair value gains on the investment property portfolio in 2022 with the translated gains under ZWL being higher than gains recognised under 2023 USD stable currency reporting.
The bank’s profit after tax for the year to December 2023 closed at US$15, 4 million a, 26 percent growth from the previous year’s US$12, 2 million.
Core capital increased by three percent to US$52, 5 million as of December 31 2023 from US$50,9 million as of December 31, 2022.
“This level is above the regulatory minimum of US$30m with a comfortable margin of safety being maintained. The Bank’s capital adequacy ratio remained strong, closing the period at 28 percent which is well above the regulatory minimum of 12 percent.
“This performance was underpinned by an increase in the customer base, growth in the loan book, and exchange gains,” said FCB Chairman Mr Patrick Devenish.
A final dividend of US0,22 cents per share was declared.
This brings the total dividend for the year ended 31 December 2023 to US0, 36 cents per share.
-herald
