Last year was another bumper 12 months for Crane Bank, with profits up 38% to Ush9bn ($4.9m). With all the pan-African banking heavyweights present in the market, domestically owned Crane Bank has again shown its competitive resolve.
Success in 2005 was attributable to a twin focus on revenues and costs. “Unlike other banks in the industry, Crane Bank has not been averse to lending. Instead of relying on low risk assets such as treasury bills, we grew our loan book by 23.5% in 2005, creating a sustainable income stream to the bank that is not subject to the yield volatility of government securities,” says managing direct AR Kalan.
The judges also noted Crane Bank’s success in clipping back costs, with the bank’s cost-to-income ratio receding from 72.5% in 2004 to 66.3% in 2005.
Year-on-year, Crane Bank has shown its sound understanding of both the retail and corporate markets, which grew 18.8% and 19.3% respectively in terms of assets. In particular, it has successfully targeted the country’s low-income, under-banked segment, delivering simple and understandable products into this market. At the same time, Crane Bank continues to invest in technology, which in 2005 saw it expand its ATM network and install new utility bill payment options.
