Dear valued shareholders;
Led by a strategy crafted to seize opportunities in the market, the bank has set forth balanced measures that guarantee the bank’s sustainability on all fronts. On top of that, in light of the enormous potential and wide acceptance of our brand within the community, again in this fiscal year, we set forth ambitious targets and registered phenomenal growth.
The fiscal year 2021/22 was a year where we hit a major milestone in terms of Asset formation. Our asset surpassed the ETB 100 billion milestone to reach ETB 114.61 billion at the end of June 30, 2022. Liabilities take a major share of this being ETB 103.29 billion and total capital reaching ETB 11.31 billion
This year again, the bank was able to mobilize ETB 25.65 billion in deposits, which shows an increase of 36 percent from the position of last year’s same period.
Despite the hurdles in the collection of foreign currencies, the bank was able to obtain USD 438.28 million, a 27.4 percent increment from the last year. From the proceeds, about 69 percent of it came from export revenues.
During the year, the bank made fresh loan disbursements of ETB 37.6 billion which expanded our loan book to ETB 84.26 billion, up by 54.6 percent from the preceding year. International trade accounts for the largest portion of this portfolio, followed by DTS, and manufacturing. Incredible progress has been made in financing Coopbank Alhuda customers. The bank is leading the market with a financing of ETB 13.51 billion in this arena. While significantly increasing our loans and advances, we have also improved the quality of our assets, bringing the NPL ratio down to 2.03 percent, a drop of 9 percentage points from the year before.
The bank had yet another outstanding accomplishment, generating ETB 12.05 billion in income for the fiscal year that concluded on June 30, 2022. Our income from interest was the major one with around 67 percent of it; the remaining came from fees, commissions, and other sources. On the other hand, the bank incurred a total expense totalling ETB 9.21 billion in interest expense, salaries and benefits as well as operating expenses during the fiscal year. Therefore, the profit before tax is a staggering ETB 2.84 billion, an increase of 67.63 percent from the balance of ETB 1.7 billion last year.
By strategically targeting various customer segments, we have been able to consistently hold the leading position in customer base among private banks. We have put unrelenting effort into becoming competitive in the field of digital banking as the future of banking is shifting to the digital realm. As a result, we were able to add 1.56 million new users to our Coopay Ebirr digital banking ecosystem throughout the fiscal year, bringing the total number of users to 3.52 million. Additionally, the bank was able to raise the number of its agents and merchants to 7,351 and 46,827, respectively, through consistent efforts.
This year, on the digital front, we were able to introduce Michu, a digital lending platform powered by Kifiya’s Qena, with no requirement for collateral targeting micro, small and medium enterprises. The product is the first of its kind in the country, and we are setting the bar for more technologically advanced and financially accessible products that will challenge the current status quo and fundamentally alter our industry.
The work we have done to improve the capacity of our human capital is the other significant strategic imperative. Several development programs have been put into place this year, and thorough gap analyses have been done to identify competency gaps so that they can be continually addressed. In addition, the bank’s overall workforce expanded by 26.5 percent during the fiscal year, reaching 6,547 employees.
We were also able to reiterate during the fiscal year that our efforts to assist our community in times of need are part of the bank’s identity. The bank and its employees together donated ETB 70 million dispersed in kind to the drought victims when drought conditions worsened as a result of disparities in rainfall in different zones of the Oromia region. In addition, the bank gave the Somali regional government ETB 8 million to fight the natural disasters as a result of the drought’s worsening conditions.
Considering the bank’s DNA and foundation, we were more able than ever to collaborate with different stakeholders in the agricultural sector. Introducing Commoditized Collateral Financing (CCF), the bank was able to improve farmers’ access to financing by allowing them to utilize agricultural products as collateral, which will be valuable to farmers who sell their produce at a loss to meet their immediate financial needs. In addition, the bank has made tremendous progress in supporting cooperatives and individual farmers.
Finally, I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to our esteemed customers who have extended their engagement with Coopbank on behalf of myself and the entire team. I owe the Board of Directors a debt of gratitude for their unwavering commitment, strong leadership, guidance, and support. My heartfelt regards and appreciation also goes to our valued shareholders for their continuous support and to our employees for their tenacity, devotion, and unwavering commitment to the Bank’s vision. My appreciation also goes to the National Bank of Ethiopia, for its guidance, continued support and cooperation.
Thank you,
Deribie Asfaw
President