Jamii Bora Bank CEO Samuel Kimani. PHOTO | FILE
By WAINAINA WAMBU
Jamii Bora Bank has hinted that it is searching for a
strategic investor to boost its capital even as it explores other
methods of raising cash.
Chief executive Samuel Kimani said on Tuesday the bank is
considering a rights issue, convertible debt or a strategic investor to
boost its balance sheet.
“Among our 600 shareholders none of them is involved in banking,” he told journalists.
Jamii Bora, which reported a 79.5 per cent growth
in after-tax profit last year, said it plans to achieve its target of a
Sh20 billion balance sheet by end of this year.
“Our plan for 2015 is to grow the balance sheet to
Sh20 billion by growing the loan book and building our liabilities,”
said Jamii Bora chairman James Gacheru.
The bank, which lends mostly to small and
medium-sized enterprises, saw its loan book stand at Sh6.1 billion for
2014, expanding from Sh3.8 billion in 2013.
Mr Gacheru told shareholders that the bank is
targeting an increase in profit before tax to Sh150 million from Sh96
million recorded in 2014.
The lender, which now owns the biggest stake at the troubled Uchumi Supermarkets, said that it had started “spearheading strategic changes” at the retail chain.
“We are aware of public concerns over the
governance and performance of the supermarket chain, but we are
spearheading strategic changes that will ensure the business returns to
its lost glory,” said Mr Gacheru.
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