National Bank of Kenya (NBK) has sunk further in the woods. This is after the troubled bank returned a net loss of Sh. 278.5 million in the first quarter of 2018. This was slide away from the Sh. 59.4 million net profit it posted in the same period the previous year.
National Bank net interest earnings dropped by Sh. 227 million to Sh. 1.21 billion from Sh. 1.44 billion in March 2016, highlighting the impact of a smaller loan book. Its lending also contracted by Sh. 6.9 billion or 12 per cent to Sh. 51.1 billion from Sh. 58.1 billion.
Non-interest income from fees and commissions dropped 12.35 per cent to Sh. 552 million. The lender’s stock of gross toxic debt remained nearly flat at Sh. 28.9 billion from Sh. 29 billion.
Its stock of Treasuries decreased 4.29 per cent to Sh. 33.9 billion. NBK’s interest expenses dropped 11.7 per cent to Sh. 769 million, reflecting the impact of a five per cent drop in customer deposits.
National Bank will have to wait until September to close a Sh. 4.2 billion shareholder loan to shore up its capital. The bank’s capital has remained below regulatory requirements for 25 months.