Key statistics: COGEBANQUE projects Rwf1b net profitsBy Saul Butera

Following restructuring, COGEBANQUE projects a net profit of Rwf1 billion over the financial year 2011. That would be Rwf700 million more than it realised in 2009 despite intense competition in the final sector. This was announced by Ephraim Turahirwa, COGEBANQUE’s Board Chairman this Thursday after the opening of the bank’s rebranded branch in Remera. “We expect the bank’s performance and profits to increase drastically,” he forecasts. Remera Branch is the first of the 16 branches the bank plans to rebrand. “There are very many reasons as to why banks rebrand. When the bank grows and attracts investors, branding becomes important. We want to show the world the new era of maturity, not the era of start-ups,” Turahirwa explains. He also said that the bank is campaigning to attract more clientele. COGEBANQUE also wants to partner with upcountry Microfinance institutions to bring banking closer to rural areas. In 2008, the bank sold 40 percent shares to Shorecap International, Africainvest and Belgium Investment Company (BIO). The bank was incorporated in 2009. two new investors; Shorecap and Africainvest aim at the creation of a strong private sector while BIO targets small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and Microfinance institutions. The three investors paid Frw6 billion to recapitalise the bank that had failed to raise Rwf5 billion, a legal reserve requirement set by the Nation Bank of Rwanda if a financial institution is to operate as a commercial bank. The bank’s Non Performing Loans stand at 26 percent compared to the Nation Bank’s required 7 percent. “The figures are still high because of various reasons, says Turahirwa.”Many of our clients were hit by the 2008-2009 credit crunch, but now business have revived and most of them are back in good books, except for a few who are still recovering. Ends

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Key statistics: COGEBANQUE projects Rwf1b net profitsBy Saul Butera