I&M Bank (Rwanda) Plc recorded an after-tax profit of Rwf 1.5B in the period between January and March 2020, unaudited financial results show.

The Bank maintained progress in most aspects despite the covid19 pandemic which has had social and economic impacts as well as hindered productivity.

Among the key drivers in the profits recorded was the expansion of its loan book by 17 per cent to Rwf 201Billion since 31st December 2019.

The Bank’s financial statement shows that even with the expansion of the loan book, the quality of the credit was maintained with Non-performing loans remaining below the 5 per cent regulatory threshold at 2.1 per cent as at the end of the first quarter of 2020.

The Bank’s profits will earn Rwanda Revenue authority tax receipts of about Rwf 0.9B as the profit before tax was Rwf 2.4b.

For shareholders, the bank’s balance sheet remained strong in the first quarter of 2020 with total assets growing by 9 per cent to Rwf 348b, and shareholders’ funds growing by 4% to Rwf 44b as at the end of March this year.

The Bank’s performance can be attributed to increased investment in technology and product diversification which has characterized its operations in recent years. 

Robin Bairstow the Managing Director of the bank said that while the start of the year had been highlighted by profound movements, they are aware that it will be a challenging year.

However, even with the challenges, he noted that the bank’s strategy is built around delivering value for our customers and shareholders

"We will leverage on the momentum of the previous year, our sound investments in state-of-art digital platforms, effectively manage costs and focus on delivering solid results despite uncertain market variables,” he said.

Bairstow said that the progress and growth in revenue can be attributed to deepening relationships with customers and attracting new ones, driven by digital transformation.

"Underpinning our financial performance is our commitment to putting our customers at the center of everything we do, whilst ensuring to create value for our communities through leveraging our resources, and network to help people thrive. We made significant progress in deepening our relationships with our customers and attracting new ones, and thanks to our digital transformation, we continue to broaden avenues through which we serve them,” he said.

I&M Bank has had multiple interventions to its clients in response to the pandemic including relief on loan repayment burden as the lender has reduced its base lending rate from 16.5 per cent to 16 per cent in April this year.

By reducing the base rate, the bank consequently reduced its revenue to support their customers amid the pandemic.

The bank also extended a grace period of up to 3 months for principal and/or interest payments in support of those businesses or retail clients’ who are being financially affected by the pandemic.

This was with understanding that a majority of their clients’ cash flows have been interrupted by the pandemic and could have liquidity challenges in the short term.