KCB Group’s Democratic Republic of Congo acquisition target Trust Merchant Bank made twice as much in fees and commissions compared to net interest income in 2021, pointing to the influence of non-funded income on the performance of Congolese lenders.
Disclosures on TMB books in a shareholder circular sent by KCB to its shareholders ahead of the takeover show that the DRC lender made Sh6.03 billion in fees and commissions last year, while net interest income stood at Sh3.07 billion.
On its balance sheet, TMB holds Sh104.4 billion in cash and deposits at other banks, more than double the Sh46 billion the lender has lent to customers in loans and advances.
TMB’s asset and income mix mirror that of Banque Commerciale Du Congo (BCDC) ahead of its acquisition by Kenyan lender Equity Group in 2020.
In the case of BCDC, commissions on transactions including foreign exchange trades brought in income of Sh5.6 billion in the year ending December 2019, ahead of lending income of Sh4.6 billion.