KENYA COMMERCIAL BANK DISBURSES OVER 2B DIVIDEND PAYOUT TO KENYAN GOVERNMENT

KENYA COMMERCIAL BANK DISBURSES OVER 2B DIVIDEND PAYOUT TO TREASURY

By Donald Kogai

Kenya Commercial Bank Group Disburses over

2 billion Kenya shillings Dividend Payout to

Treasury for the year ending December 2019,

signifying a sustained return to shareholders

amid a tough operating environment.

The return made up of KShs.1 interim dividend

and Kshs 2.50 final dividend is the highest

amount the KCB has ever paid in dividends to

the Government of Kenya.

In 2018, the payout was KShs. 1,880,826,314.

On June 4, during the 2019 Annual General

Meeting KCB Group shareholders

approved a KShs.11.1 billion total dividend

payout.

The dividend is to be paid on or before July 3,

2020 to shareholders on the register as of close

of business on April 27, 2020.

Speaking when handing over the cheque to

Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani,

KCB Group Chairman Andrew Wambari Kairu

said: “KCB has over the years

consistently maximized shareholder value and

provided an unmatched return on

investment to its shareholders and above all

build a sustainable organisation that is

now the biggest indigenous banking institutions

in East Africa by assets, profitability

and other key matrices”.

In the last decade, the Bank has cumulatively

paid KShs. 12.98 billion in dividends to

the Government, a top shareholder.

“This payout is timely, coming at a time when

there are rising expenditure demands in

the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and

revenue collections are subdued. We need

to channel resources directly to MSMES to get

them going through the crisis” said

Treasury CS Ukur Yatani.

The Government, was instrumental in the

historic acquisition of the National Bank

Kenya by KCB Group in September 2019.

Looking ahead, KCB is focused on continually

supporting its stakeholders through the

ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic and driving

economic recovery efforts amid the

global outbreak of coronavirus that has

continued to put a strain on the global

economy.

“As a significant player in the banking industry,

we believe that our responsibilities go

beyond banking, and we are committed to

contributing to addressing socio-economic

challenges across the different markets in

which we operate.

During this season when the COVID-19

pandemic has affected our economy, we are

playing our role to

stem the spread of the virus as well as cushion

the economy through various

initiatives among them restructuring of loans

for our customers,” said the Chairman.

The 2019 dividends are on the back of

impressive Profit After Tax for the year which

increased by 5% to Kshs.25.2 billion. Last

month, KCB reported KShs.6.3 billion in

profit after tax in the first quarter of 2020

ending March. This was an 8% jump from

the KShs. 5.8 billion posted a similar period last

year.