Agribank disburses loans worth millions

Agribank disburses loans worth millionsBook grows 11% The minister of public enterprises, Leon Jooste, says Agribank is one of the most compliant public enterprises. Agribank disbursed loans worth over N$246 million in the financial year ended 31 March 2020.

At its virtual annual general meeting on Thursday, Agribank said more than N$21 million was paid to female clients, while N$52 million went to the youth below 40 years of age.

The bank also extended funding of more than N$15 million to communal farmers without collateral, while over 8 000 farmers countrywide benefitted from training and mentorship interventions during the same period.

“The bank continues to deliver credible financial performance as its loan book grew by 11% to N$3.01 billion in 2020 from N$2.8 billion in 2019.

Interest income went up by 12.7% to N$243 million, while the operating expenses went up by only 4.2% from N$136.7 million in 2019 to N$142.5 million in 2020.

The chief executive officer of Agribank, Sakaria Nghikembua, said the bank will continue to preserve the business through securing sustainable sources of affordable loan book funding.

“We will ensure new business growth, maintain positive collections trajectory and prudently manage expenses while managing provisions for bad debt. Our focus is to diversify the loan book for climate resilience and inclusivity by bringing on board the youth, women and communal producers,” he said.

ARREARS

Other highlights include the collection of over N$323 million in arrears, while the bank continues to feature amongst the top 25 positively communicating brands in the country.

The minister of public enterprises, Leon Jooste, said Agribank is one of the most compliant public enterprises and has an extremely well-governed structure.

Jooste indicated that the quality of governance directly translated into the credible performance of Agribank over the past few years. - Nampa