Access Bank Rwanda half year net profit decreased by over 50 per cent, a financial statement from the bank indicates.

The bank registered Rwf360 million net profit as at the end of June this year, down from Rwf729 million the same period last year.

The financial institution is one of the many local banks that were affected by the drop in exchange earnings this year, which was occasioned by the 1.9 per cent depreciation rate of the Rwanda franc against the dollar during the first half of the year.

The firm’s exchange gains dropped to Rwf692.3 million this year from Rwf1.34 billion in June 2013, a decline of approximated Rwf647.7 million.

Jean Claude Karayenzi, the Access Bank managing director, attributed the decline to the lower exchange gain margins and volumes that had been brought about by the high demand from importers to supply the country’s infrastructure developers.

He was, however, optimistic that the franc would stabilise in the second half of the year and support the bank’s earning.

On the other hand, the firm’s loan book grew from Rwf13.2 billion in December last year to Rwf14.5 billion this year.

The rise was mainly as a result of increased mortgage loans, which went up from Rwf1.9 billion last year to Rwf5.1 billion in June.

The bank also did well in its treasury loans that increased from Rwf987.3 million last year to Rwf1.6 billion.

Overdrafts on the contrary, declined slightly from Rwf6.6 billion to Rwf6.1 billion during the period.

However, the bank’s total assets were at Rwf50.6 billion, up from Rwf48.9 billion in December.