John Rwangombwa, the Rwanda Central Bank Bank Governor addresses the press at BNR
Despite the bad loans, last year banks in Rwanda earned a combined total of Rwf3billion more than they made in the previous year 2015, the central bank announced Wednesday.
John Rwangombwa, the central bank governor said commercial banks made a total net profit of Rwf60billion (about $100m) as of December 2016, compared to Rwf57billion the year before.
“…the financial sector remains stable, sound, profitable, adequately liquid and solvent,” said Rwangombwa at the release of the quarterly Monetary Policy Statement.
There are about a dozen banks, boasting total assets of Rwf2.4trillion – and commanding growth rates of about 11%. The central bank says the financial sector has liquidity ratio at 42.5%, way above the 15% requirement.
At a general level, the economy continued to perform well in the context of global economic challenges, said Rwangombwa. “This trend is likely to improve, owing to positive growth prospects in both emerging and developing economies.”
The central bank maintained the repo rate at 6.25% – the same level it was sent in December.
