African Century loan book contracts 47pc

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AFRICAN Century (ACL)’s loan book shrunk by 47 percent during the six months to June 2020 due to early settlements triggered by hyperinflation.
Following the reintroduction of the Zimbabwe dollar last year, the government ordered the conversion of balances for assets and liabilities from US dollars to the domestic currency on a 1:1 basis, but the local unit has since lost considerable ground and is now trading at 80-plus:1 against the greenback, while the country’s inflation is now the world’s second highest at 400-plus percent.

“The loan book declined significantly from $76,85 million as at December 31, 2019 to $41,08 million as at June 30, 2020 driven by early settlements by clients in the wake of hyperinflation and the depreciating exchange rate,” Victor Gapare, ACL’s board chairman said last week in the company’s results.