eBusiness Weekly
Business Writer
CBZ Holdings total income for the year ended December 31, 2021 increased to $42,5 billion compared to $23,5 billion in 2020 largely driven by significant growth in interest income.
The group’s interest income for the period grew to $21,8 billion from $8,1 billion in prior year with the growth attributed to growth in interest from loans to $14,8 billion from $2,9 billion in 2020.
During the year under review, non-interest income at $23 billion was the largest contributor to total income. Commission and fee income at $9,2 billion was the largest contributor to total non-interest income followed by Agro business income of $4,5 billion and unrealised profit on foreign currency exchange of $4,1 billion.
Group chairman, Marc Holtzman during a virtual media briefing said the Group’s extraordinary performance exceeded even its higher expectations.
“…and am particularly delighted that the performance is indicative of the future strategy but also an affirmation that our highly successful conversion to our digital transformation strategy has a huge impact on our ability to save our customers in a very positive way,” he said.
He said the group’s Agro Yield subsidiary did a magnificent job in 2021 in funding agriculture which saw Zimbabwe for the first becoming a net exporter of maize and wheat.
“As a result, we will continue to transform our lending to become effective,” he said.
On insurance, Holtzman said the group will continue with the acquisition transaction of First Mutual Holdings (FML) which will create a critical mass factor that will allow the group to perform and achieve even more positive results.
He noted that the group is satisfied with the performance of the Red Sphere Finance microfinance lending unit which was not only profitable but effective in reaching a sector that has been previously underserved.
“When you combine all those results, you can also see that our USD deposits at 62 percent from nearly 3 percent 3 years ago, shows that customers are adapting to the challenging domestic environment and despite that are thriving,” he said.
Holtzman said in 2022, global economies are likely to start the gradual transition towards co-existing with Covid-19, implying reduced disruptions and hopefully improved business activity.
However, he said, the major downside risks include the possibility of extended supply chain disruptions, rising global inflationary pressures as well as disparate monetary and fiscal policies as countries transition to the next normal at different levels and scales.
He noted that the shift towards environmental accountability is expected to gather pace in 2022, hence the Group’s ongoing efforts to embed Environmental, Social and Governance “ESG” practices and goals in operations.
