This week I had a successful Zoom webinar on the impact of Covid-19 pandemic on banks. The webinar had one simple proposition; that the pandemic could hurt banks’ income statement in 2020. And judging by first quarter results, that proposition is brewing.
In the quarter, banks’ pre-tax earnings declined by 11 per cent year-on-year, primarily driven by a 154 per cent year-on-year surge in loan impairment losses. Between the third quarter of 2019 and first quarter this year, banks have booked impairment losses totalling Sh43 billion.
