Almot Maqolo, Staff Writer 
CBZ Holdings (CBZ) says it is negotiating with international banks to secure financing for farmers in Zimbabwe.
The country’s biggest financial services group already has significant exposure to the agricultural sector through its involvement in Command Agriculture and other government-driven agricultural funding schemes.
“So, you recall that, or you are aware that we play a very significant role in agriculture through CBZ Agro Yield, which is a key productive sector in the country. It is critical for import substitution because if you can grow food, why should we import food? We should import things that we cannot produce.
“What we are already doing is lending extensively in agriculture and we are also working with international players such as South African banks and other international banks to try and attract funding into agriculture,” CBZ group chief executive Blessing Mudavanhu told The Financial Gazette on the sidelines of the bank’s launch of a charity foundation last week.
The agriculture sector contributes about 17 percent to the country’s GDP.
While rainfall has had an impact on agriculture production, other factors appear to be at play, as maize yield per hectare in Zimbabwe is significantly lower than peers in the same climatic region.
CBZ Holdings reported a profit of $7,7 billion for the year ended December 2022, representing a five percent decline from a $8,2 billion profit reported in 2021.
The decline was largely attributable to a surge in credit loss provisions, which stood at $7,4 billion, as well as an adjustment for monetary losses of $7,2 billion.
The group experienced sizeable top-line growth, with net interest income rising by 221 percent to $19 billion and non-interest income increasing by 35 percent to ZWL$23 billion. In total, the group’s total income stood at $42,5 billion and its net operating income stood at $25,4 billion.
Growth in net interest income was driven by a 30 percent rise in customer loans and advances to $64 billion. This was also supported by improved lending rates, with the loan book returning a yield of 23 percent compared to the previous year’s 6 percent.
The commercial banking division recorded the largest net profit before taxes, at $10 billion.
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