BK Group Plc, a parent company of Bank of Kigali Plc, has announced today, March 28, that it registered a 25 per cent annual increase in net profit, reaching Rwf74.8 billion in 2023.

Group executives attributed the increase to a good growth recorded both in non-interest and interest income.

Non-interest income – revenue generated from sources other than the traditional interest earned on bank loans – grew 34.8 per cent to Rwf59 billion in 2023.

The group’s total interest income rose by 20 per cent year-on-year to Rwf165.4 billion, while net loan book grew by 9.7 per cent to Rwf1.2 trillion in the same period.

According to Diane Karusisi, CEO of Bank of Kigali Plc, the lender has been trying to diversify income streams over the past years, away from interest income which remains the main driver of growth.

The group invested in digitization and staff training to drive productivity and efficiency, which incurred heavy costs. However, Karusisi indicated that the costs have been contained during 2023 and relatively increased at a slower pace compared to income growth.

She highlighted that the lender benefited from the increase in interbank rate to 7.5 per cent in 2023 from 5.92 per cent in 2022. This suggests that an increase in interest rate at which banks lend each other allowed BK to charge more interest on loans.

This allowed the lender to maintain a strong liquidity position, taking advantage of the increased interest rates to invest more in government securities.

Apart from Bank of Kigali Plc, BK Group has other subsidiaries including BK General Insurance, BK TecHouse, and BK Capital. The banking arm has been, for a long time, the driver of the group’s growth.

The bank’s financial statements indicate deposits increased to Rwf1.38 trillion from Rwf1.08 trillion during the period under review.

The bank’s total assets grew by 14.3 per cent to Rwf2 trillion mainly funded by a growth in customer deposits and other placements.

“Non-funded income also experienced a formidable consolidated growth of 34.8 per cent year-on-year which is now contributing 26.3 per cent to total operating income, up from 24.1 per cent the previous year,” Anita Umuhire, Bank of Kigali’s Chief Finance Officer, told the press.

Umuhire highlighted that the increase in digital channel usage and higher transfer of remittance volume contributed to the growth in non-lending fees of Rwf5 billion.

“Non-performing loans ratio increased to 4.5 per cent, which is higher than the previous year but still within our appetite, linked to the downgrade of key exposures,” she said.

She added, “We also significantly increased our placements into foreign banks, especially for foreign currency funds mainly in US Dollars.”

The Group CEO, Beata Habyarimana said that Rwanda’s economic resilience against inflation and depreciation supported the group’s activities across all subsidiaries.