admincredit as it is already working on about US$120 million worth of offshore facilities.
Chief executive Dr John Mangudya disclosed this when presenting the CBZ Holdings financial results for the full year to December 31 2011.
After disbursing a total of US$790 million in loans last year, CBZ said it would grow advances by a maximum of 5 percent this year.
Loans totalled US$445 million in the comparative period last year.
“We will implement some austerity measures,” he said. “We are going to contain advances growth, at the very maximum 5 percent. The idea is to ensure we do not grow advances at the expense of our deposits.”
The strategy comes in the wake of the high value payments between December 2011 and January this year which caused serious liquidity constraints.
But CBZ contends it will have more financial resources to meet all its financial obligations this year, as it eyes improved profitability.
While reducing advances, the bank is anticipating a 40 percent growth in deposits from the US$829 million mobilised last year.
Dr Mangudya, who takes over as CBZ group chief executive officer after the retirement on March 31 of Mr Nyasha Makuvise, said fresh funding would come from shareholders, the Diaspora, PTA Bank and Shelter Afrique.
The bank is negotiating for a US$63 million loan from the PTA Bank, US$20 million from the Diaspora, US$30 million from one of the group’s shareholders and US$7,5 million from Shelter Afrique.
The loan facility from Shelter Afrique, a shareholder, would go towards mortgage finance.
Dr Mangudya said CBZ had a large pool of funding from which it would support productive activities this year.
Apart from the new lines of credit, the bank had existing facilities with Afreximbank.
Agriculture received the biggest chunk accounting for 30 percent of total advances, followed by distribution at 24 percent, manufacturing 15 percent,
services 14 percent, private sector 7 percent, transport 6 percent, construction 2 percent and mining 1 percent.
CBZ, which reported profits across all operations — banking, insurance, properties and asset management — is this year targeting a 20 percent increase on the US$30 million profit for 2011.
The country’s largest financial services group, which now has an asset valuation of just over US$1,1 billion, declared a final dividend of US0,25 cents per share on the back of strong results last year.
Online Reporter