NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's Diamond Trust Bank posted a 39 percent increase in pretax profit for the first half of this year, driven largely by a rise in net interest income, it said on Monday.
Lenders in east Africa's largest economy have been posting strong profits for the period despite facing a tough environment due to high interest rates, which crimped growth in loan books and increased non-performing loans.
Policymakers adopted a tightening monetary stance in the final quarter of last year, firmly supporting the local currency at the expense of borrowers and potentially the quality of banks' loan books.
Pretax profit rose to 2.86 billion shillings. Diamond said its net interest income for the period rose 47 percent to 4.3 billion shillings. It also increased its income from foreign exchange trading.
The bank, which focuses on services to small and medium-sized firms, also offers retail banking services in Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
It is in the middle of a 1.8 billion shillings cash call to fund expansion of its branch network to 90 outlets from the present 78 branches.
Its larger rivals, KCB, and Equity, expect to increase earnings in the second half of the year as lending picks up due to falling interest rates, their chief executives said last week.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kenyan-diamond-trusts-first-half-profit-jumps-39-110312882--sector.html
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