Standard Chartered Kenya
Standard Chartered Kenya cut its loan book exposure to the manufacturing and real estate sectors last year while increasing allocation to transport and energy, reflecting the respective economic performance of the sectors.
The bank says in its 2016 annual report that loans to the transport and communications sector rose to Sh16.3 billion by the end of December from Sh6.4 billion in 2015, with credit to the energy and water sector going up to Sh12.1 billion from Sh9.3 billion.
At the same time, credit to manufacturers fell to Sh17.6 billion from Sh23.9 billion in 2015, while cash lent to real estate firms slumped to Sh895 million compared to Sh3.7 billion in 2015.
Standard Chartered’s loan book stood at Sh128.3 billion at the end of 2016, compared to Sh120.4 billion in 2015.
The bank’s trend of sectoral credit concentration is generally in line with that of the banking industry.
Latest Central Bank of Kenya data shows that the annualised credit growth to the manufacturing sector has been in the negative since October last year, touching a low of -8.3 per cent in February this year.
At the same time, the credit growth to the transport and communications sector averaged an annualised growth rate of 20.4 per cent in the one year to February.