Access Bank Rwanda posted a Rwf536.6 million after tax profit last year, a financial statement from the lender indicates.

However, this was a 24.6 per cent or Rwf175.2 million decline compared to the Rwf711.8 million net profit the firm recorded the previous year.

The total operating income of the Nigerian bank group subsidiary dropped to Rwf6.1 billion last year from Rwf6.2 billion in 2013, mainly due to a decrease in foreign exchange earnings, according to the statement.

The National Bank of Rwanda introduced ceiling profit margins on foreign exchange for commercial banks last year in a bid to regulate the players that were placing high profit margins on clients who trade foreign currency with them.

This led to many banks to register drops in operating income, with Access Bank’s foreign exchange earnings dropping from Rwf2 billion in 2013 to Rwf1.4 billion last year.

The bank’s other operating income, in form of net interest income and net fees and commissions income, were up by 9.5 and 17.4 per cent, respectively, while its operating expenses increased from Rwf4.7 billion to Rwf5.14 billion during the reporting period. Its loan book grew by 55.8 per cent, from Rwf13.3 billion in 2013 to Rwf20.7 billion last year.

This led to a 17 per cent growth in the firm’s assets, from Rwf48.9 billion to Rwf57.2 billion.

Its total liabilities grew from Rwf40.4 billion to Rwf48.2 billion in the same period, driven by the growth in customer deposits that rose from Rwf39.8 billion to Rwf47.3 billion last year.

The bank rebranded last December, replacing the deep blue background on its logo with a white one.