commercial bank | Africa Inc.

First National Bank opens its doors for SMEs to access the Credit Guarantee Scheme

August 31, 2020August 31, 2020 Frank

NAMIBIA – First National Bank (FNB) is the first to open its doors to for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to get access to Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) that helps entrepreneurs who have no collateral be now able to access funding from commercial banks. Martin Inkumbi, chief executive officer of the Development Bank of Namibia, said a second financial institution has been approved for participation in the scheme, but will only be able to make the scheme available once contractual matters are finalised. Other financial institutions are also expected to…

NBK posts US$1.7m profit before tax for the first year of 2020

August 15, 2020August 27, 2020 Frank

KENYA – National Bank of Kenya (NBK), a commercial bank, has posted KSh186million (US$1.72m) in profit before tax for the first half of the year ending June, representing a 62 percent increase from a similar period last year. The Bank’s performance, despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, was driven by a growth in the loan book and enhanced returns from investments in government securities. However, profit after tax reduced from KSh107 million (US$0.99m) to a loss of KSh381 million (US$3.52m) due to a one-off tax adjustment after the recent change in corporate tax. “We remained resilient during the first half of…