Standard Chartered reports profit-before-tax up 15%, calls for resolution of Zambia’s debt crisis to boost growth potential

Standard Chartered Bank Zambia has posted a 15 percent growth in both income and profit after tax, as it calls for the resolution to the country’s debt crisis.

Chief Executive Officer Sonny Zulu announced a strong set of results for the full-year 2022, with both income and profit before tax up 15 percent, and a return on tangible equity of 8.0 percent, up 120 basis points on 2021.

“We are also announcing a new US$1 billion share buy-back, and a final dividend of 14 cents per share, taking total shareholder distributions announced since the start of 2022 to US$2.8 billion, more than half the three year US$5 billion target we set ourselves by 2024,” Zulu said.

Addressing journalists in Lusaka on Tuesday, Zulu said the bank continues to make significant progress against the five strategic actions outlined last year, and that the bank remains confident in the delivery of its group financial targets.

“We are upgrading our expectations and are now targeting a return on tangible equity approaching 10 percent in 2023, to exceed 11 percent in 2024 and to continue to grow thereafter,” Zulu said.

He said the bank has also made positive strides towards its Agent banking.

Zulu explained that since launching this digital capability in September 2022, the bank had seen over 5,000 transactions being done through its Agent Banking platform.

On the debt, he said Zambia should accelerate its efforts to conclude the negotiations to restructure its debt to enable financial institutions grow their loans and advances.

The delay to conclude on the negotiations has impacted entities such as commercial banks in area of growing its loans and advances.

Zulu stated that the bank’s loan and advances have remained flat.

Zulu said accelerating the country’s debt restructuring programme was crucial as this would enable the bank lend to economic sectors of the economy.

“Loans and advances have remained flat. In fact if you look at it over the years, they have been going down. This is because as an international bank operating here in Zambia we are still regulated by international regulators and when a country is in defaulting, it becomes difficult to continue lending.

“That is what it is very important to accelerate the debt restructuring programme because when that is completed, then Zambia will move away from being categorised from where it is today as defaulting entity to now begin to pay on our loans,” he said.

Zulu was however pleased that efforts were being made to ensure that the process was hastened.

“So as a result you will find that the loans and advances that could be ideally go towards some of the projects are linked with the government then those loans and advances will not be able to grow,” Zulu said.

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