Steward Bank outwits the big boys

STEWARD Bank has emerged as a force to reckon with in the local banking sector after an aggressive drive that has given it the largest customer base ahead of long-established institutions like CBZ.
The bank, which was launched in 2013 following Econet Wireless’ acquisition of TN Bank, says it now has 747 729 customers, ahead of CBZ Bank which is now second with 496 000 customers.
Leveraging on a relationship with its Cassava Smartech associates such as Ecocash, the bank added 273 493 new customers between August 2017 and August 2018.
“Steward Bank, now fully integrated as a part of Cassava SmartTech, has remained focused on building a digital bank of the future premised on an open, scalable and cost effective banking model capable of serving every Zimbabwean who needs a banking service.
“In the six months under review, we are pleased to have welcomed an additional 170 000 new customers to the “Purple Family”, taking the total number of customers using our platform to over 740 000,” Bernard Chidzero, Steward Bank’s board chairman, said in a comment accompanying the bank’s financial statements for the six months ended August 31, 2018.
“As part of its competitive advantage, the bank will continue to leverage on synergies from Cassava SmartTech entities such as EcoCash and EcoSure,” he added.
Even though the bank has not yet eclipsed its more established counterparties on the income front, it has done well to convert its customer base-boost into dollars on its income statement.
Over the six months, profit after tax grew by 123 percent to $19 million from $8,5 million in the prior comparable period. This was on the back of a 72 percent increase in non-interest income to $41,7 million from $24,2 million.
Net interest income grew by 93 percent to $9,3 million from $4,8 million.
Operating income for the period came in at $53 million. In contrast, CBZ’s net operating income for the half year ended June 30, 2018 was $75 million.
The bank’s total assets grew by 76 percent, from $460 million to $810 million.
This growth was largely driven by a 95 percent increase in customer deposits, from $348 million to $677 million.
The bank says it will continue to place great emphasis on industry recapitalisation by focusing some of its resources towards funding sustainable energy, healthcare and education projects.
“As the nation rebuilds and industry retools, the bank will continue to contribute to the development of these three sectors to support economic growth,” Chidzero said.
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