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Michael Tome
Business Reporter
StewardBank, a subsidiary of EcoCash Holdings, says the number of active foreign currency accounts increased by 78percent in the first quarter to May 31, 2024, as US dollartransactions continue to dominate in the economy.
Lately, the bank has seen significant growth in the adoption of its US dollar banking services in light of the US dollar-skewed transactions.
The bank said the first quarter of this year sawa 36 percent growth in FCA transactions against the same period last year.
Remittance volumes processed bythe bank also maintained a strong trajectory with an increase of eight percent aheadof the prior year’s performance.
These developments, however, come after the country introduced its new local currency, the Zimbabwe Gold Currency (ZiG) on April5, 2024, which replaced the volatile and inflation-battered Zimbabwe dollar.
Major economic players haveembraced the new currency as its circulation has gradually increased in the economy.
“FCA inflows grew by 284percent compared to the first quarter of 2024 whilst active FCA accountsincreased by 78 percent.
“The performance for thequarter was anchored by FCA transactions whose volumes grew by 36 percentagainst the same period last year,” said EcoCash Holdings Zimbabwe, group secretary Mrs Charmaine Daniels in the company’s first-quarter trading update to May2024.
During the periodunder review, the bank achieved a quarterly historical revenue of ZiG403million and a historical profit after tax of ZiG214 million.
The business saw its greenenergy revenue improve by 51 percent.The bank’s capital adequacyratio stood at 44,85 percent as of March 31, 2024, significantly above the ReserveBank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) mandated regulatory minimum of 12 percent.
This makes Steward Bankcompliant with tier 1 capital requirements as prescribed by the central bank.
“We are optimistic aboutthe future and are well-positioned to continue building on our momentum andcreating long-term value for our shareholders through continued innovation,leveraging on digital technologies, prudent cost management, and optimisation ofour operational efficiency.
“The bank also accelerated itsgreen energy initiatives in the quarter under review, having partnered withDistributed Power Africa to offer Power as a service (PAAS).
For the period under review,installations increased by 47 percent in comparison to the previous quarter.
The installations cut acrosspowering business premises and residential households ensuring that cleanenergy is availed and contributes to the target of reducing carbon emissions by40 percent.
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