ended on June 30, Ms Sophie Nkuutu, the chief finance officer Dfcu Bank, said on Tuesday.

During the period, Dfcu's profit after tax rose to Shs14.2 billion up from Shs11.5 billon that was recorded for the same period last year. The lender's earnings from both interest income and non-interest income grew to about Shs44.5 billion from Shs33.4 billion last year according to financial results that were released on Monday. "We are continuing to grow our customer base, and loans and advances to customers. Our loan interest has increased as a result," Ms Nkuutu said in an interview yesterday.

The bank's advances to businesses and individuals increased to about Shs494 billion from Shs365 billion during the same period in 2010. She added that the growth in customer base has been boosted by product innovation and branch expansion.


During the year, the bank introduced products such as trade finance and collateral management for traders in commodities. It also increased its branches to 27 up from 25. Despite posting an increase in profit, the bank's bad debts increased to Shs2.9 billion compared to a recovery of Shs680 million last year. She attributed the increase in bad debts to the tough trading conditions that traders are facing, including the depreciation of the shilling against the dollar. "They are struggling because the dollar is going up," she explained.

This story originally appeared in the Daily Monitor