Joshua Oigara is highly regarded as one of the finest chief executive officers in Kenya’s financial industry. Since he left KCB Bank Group and joined Stanbic Bank, many have been waiting to see what impact he will have on the listed lender.

Bizna Kenya’s associate Robert Ochieng who is also the founder, and investment and financial advisor at Abojani Investment takes a look at the ‘Oigara Effect’ on Stanbic:

Stanbic Bank Kenya is on a turnaround that started in 2018.  Profits after taxes grew by 44 per cent from Sh. 6.29 billion in 2018 to Sh. 9 billion in 2022.

Evidently, the bank struck gold by hiring banking industry titan Joshua Oigara as its chief executive officer. The timing for this hiring has proven impeccable as the bank’s profits for the first 3 months in 2023 grew by 84 per cent to Sh. 3.9 billion.

This is the last year in their current strategy and the first year in the Joshua Oigara era and they have already taken the crown for being the fastest growing bank among the listed banks in Kenya.

Customer deposits for Q1 2023 soared by 24 per cent to Sh. 291 billion while loans to customers rose by 12 per cent to Sh. 230 billion. This was backed by a 65 per cent growth in revenue to Sh. 11 billion from Sh. 6.77 billion in Q1 of 2022, ushering the Joshua Oigara era in style.

The bank is on a momentum, driving riding on the need for bespoke financial solutions by customers.

“This year, we are looking at growing a stronger partnership value between insurance and banking services and marketing them as one. We believe insurance and asset management will be a new frontier for growth,” Oigara said in a local interview in March this year.

For the full year 2022, the company paid a total dividend of Sh. 12.60. This was paid on 6th June 2023. It was a dividend yield of 12 per cent going by the closing price of Sh. 104.75 on Friday the 2nd of June 2023. Book closure date was 19th of May 2023. This was a total dividend of Sh. 4.98 billion paid to investors, a 40 per cent increase as compared to 2021.

Robert Ochieng: Ten reasons why investing in NCBA Bank shares is a smart move

The US investment legend Howard Marks once said that, “It is not what you buy but what you pay for it”. As of March 2023, Stanbic bank had a book value per share of Sh. 141 meaning that it is currently undervalued going by its market price of Sh. 104.75.

The company opened 3 more branches in 2022 as it seeks to grow its mindshare in the banking sector in Kenya and being closer to customers.

The Joshua Oigara era at Stanbic Holding is here and investors seems to be excited about it. The future looks bright and only time will tell.