Citibank Tanzania has reported a staggering fourfold surge in net profit within the second quarter ending June 30, a windfall largely driven by a substantial increase in interest income.
The bank's financial statement, released over the past weekend, revealed a 321% leap in net profits to TZS 13.7 billion, up from TZS 3.25 billion recorded in the first quarter of this year.
Notably, the bank's interest income more than doubled to TZS 14.5 billion from TZS 6.7 billion. This boost was attributed to the expansion of the bank's loan book, which saw a 16% increase to TZS 406.6 billion at the end of the second quarter, up from TZS 348.2 billion in the first quarter.
The report also highlighted the growth of the bank's total assets, which rose to TZS 1.15 trillion at the end of the first half of the year.
Moreover, Citibank's non-interest income nearly tripled, rising to TZS 12.9 billion from TZS 4.8 billion. This considerable gain was linked to successful foreign currency dealings, translation gains, as well as fees and commissions. The bank's earnings from foreign currency dealings and translation gains tripled to TZS 10.8 billion from TZS 3.4 billion, and fees and commissions grew to TZS 2.05 billion from TZS 1.43 billion.
Furthermore, customer deposits at Citibank showed a healthy increase, up 9.6% to TZS 879 billion from TZS 801 billion.
In terms of asset quality, Citibank demonstrated a strong track record with its non-performing loans (NPLs) stagnating at 0% for the first half of the year. However, the bank allocated TZS 1.33 billion for potential losses, despite the industry benchmark being 5%.
However, not all figures presented an upward trend. The bank's operating costs increased by 16.5% to TZS 4.91 billion from TZS 3.59 billion in the same quarter of the previous year, a hike primarily driven by salary payments and benefits.
Established in 1995, Citibank Tanzania operates via a single branch that extends coverage to all the country's major urban centers through strategic partnerships with their associate banks.