Lamin Manjang is the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Kenya. He joined the bank in early 2014, and led it to a profit before tax of Sh. 14.3 billion that year. He recently led the bank to a half-year profit before tax of Sh. 7.5 billion up from Sh. 5.6 billion the bank posted in 2015.
Biggest money lesson: My biggest lesson in money has been in giving. I have observed that the more I give, the more I receive. Saving is addition, but giving is multiplication. You should not be mean and miserly, but instead, you ought to help others whenever you can.
Biggest money mistake: I have learned this through observance. People will often tend to live beyond their means. This is also very common in loans. People either over-borrow to a level that they cannot sustain, or use borrowed money to sustain a lifestyle they can’t afford. If you can’t afford it, don’t touch it. Live within your wherewithal.
Using loans to create wealth: Bank financing is a key catalyst in building wealth, especially for those with small businesses. Throughout my banking career, I have seen many small business owners take small loan amounts and proceed to build large enterprises. The trick with using loans to build wealth is avoiding bad debts.
What I’ll look for before lending you: Before I give you a loan, there are things I’ll look out for, such as your level of income, nature of employment, good credit rating from the Credit Reference Bureau, and the quality of collateral. Previously, we would have charged you a higher risk premium if your risk level is high, and allowed you preferential rates if it is low. However, with capped interest rates, we may have no option but to avoid lending you if your risk level is too high.
Cash wealth versus Asset wealth: I have seen people who mainly opt for non-cash wealth such as land run into cash flow problems. It is always important to balance between cash and asset wealth. This also applies to building wealth at your bank and building wealth through investments. At the bank, you will have the option of savings and fixed deposits which are now attracting good interests. On the other end, you may opt to put your cash in fixed income securities such as bonds, treasury bills or invest in the stock market. The two options will boil down to your risk appetite.