The National Development Bank has recorded a comprehensive income of P40.4 million for the year ended 31, March, 2012 as compared to P48.7 million in the prior period.
NDB last week released the financial results and this is the first year of review since the commencement of the bank’s new three year strategy, “Thobo 2014,” a project implemented after the conclusion of the five year strategy,” MAMEPE” a project that functioned from 2006-2010.
In a statement accompanying the results, Lorato Morapedi, the first woman to be appointed Chief Executive Officer of the bank, said despite the negative effects of the challenging economic environment, this year’s results were driven by a 13 percent net growth in loans and advances.
She noted that there was an improvement of 4.9 percent on the net interest income for the bank and it was this performance that “resulted in a 3.4 percent Return On Assets (ROA) and 5.8 percent Return On Equity (REO).”
Loans and advances to customers have increased to P1, 038, 63 as compared to the 921,247 recorded in 2011 and, as a result, the NDB’s total assets for 2012 add up to 1,162,657 as compared to 1,077,310 from the previous year.
The bank is ashering ‘Thobo 2014, which is replacing “MAMEPE” that had targeted small and medium enterprises while “Thobo 2014” is said to have widened its scope to cover large businesses.
According the bank’s 2011 annual report, “Thobo 2014” will be in operation for three years as government has announced its intention to privatise the financial institution. The goal of “Thobo 2014” as elaborated in the annual report is to secure market share within the development financial framework.
NDB has described “Thobo 2014” as a project that will be geared towards visible support of the government’s program to diversify the economy through partnerships with Batswana. The much publicized initiative is a three year strategy aimed at making NDB ”Botswana’s number 1 development financial services partner”.
With branches in Gaborone, Maun, Francistown and Palapye, NDB, a development finance institution, is 100 percent owned by the Botswana government and operates under the control of a board of directors who have been appointed by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning.
With the aim of providing loan financing to sectors such as agriculture, Commercial, Industrial, real estate and Human development, NDB was established by an act of parliament in 1963 to promote the economic development of Botswana.
