I&M Bank Rwanda, formerly Rwanda Commercial Bank (BCR), has posted an 80 per cent increase in half year profit compared to the same period last year, the bank said in a statement.The bank’s operating profits also increased from Rwf2.2b in June, last year, to Rwf3.9b. Its net income stood at Rwf8.99b up from Rwf6.75b. Total assets grew by 15 per cent, from Rwf110.2b to Rwf127.6b, the statement added.According to the statement, the value of non-performing loans reduced from Rwf315.7m to Rwf245.9m.Recently, the National Bank of Rwanda noted that the banking sector was still robust after posting a total net profit of Rwf14b over the first half of this year against Rwf12.9b during the same period last year.According to the central bank monetary policy and financial stability statement for the last quarter that was released a fortnight ago, the sector’s return on assets and return on equity stood at 2.1 per cent and 9.9 per cent, respectively, over the same period. This compares to 2.2 per cent and 10.6 per cent, respectively, recorded by the end of June last year.The liquid assets to total deposits ratio, which measures liquidity position of the sector, stood at 46.2 per cent in the first half of this year, compared to 47.6 per cent recorded in the same period last year. This was higher than the benchmark required by the central bank.I&M Bank Rwanda is one of the nine commercial banks that have 80.5 per cent of the sector’s total assets.
