Greetings and welcome to the twelfth Money Weekly Roundup of 2024! 

This week, banks released their financial reports for the year ending December 2023, with most reporting a growth in profits. 

Meanwhile, President William Ruto has directed CEOs of state-owned entities to slash their recurrent budget by 30% and remit 80% of their profits to the National Treasury.

As always, we’ve included some of our favourite personal finance articles in our Finance Tips section below.

Let’s dive in.

NEWS RECAP

What happened this week

🏦 Highlights From Kenyan Banks' 2023 FY Results

Most banks saw an increase in net interest income (interest from loans). For instance, I&M grew by 25%, Sidian Bank by 22%, Equity Bank by 21% and DTB Bank by 20.5%. Read More.

There was also a notable increase in non-interest income (transactions and foreign exchange trading), with I&M at 10% and Co-op Bank at 2.8%.

Customer deposits grew in banks such as NCBA, Prime Bank, Equity Bank, I&M and Sidian Bank. Additionally, I&M and Co-op’s subsidiaries recorded growth, boosting the overall performance.

Four banks announced dividends;

• NCBA: Ksh4.75 per share 

• Co-op Bank: Ksh1.50 per share

• Equity Bank: Ksh4 per share

• DTB Bank: Ksh6 per share

Here is a summary of the performance compared to 2022:

✋ President Directs Parastatals to Cut Expenditure

President Ruto held a meeting with chief executives of state corporations and issued directives aimed at reducing drain on the exchequer. These directives included:

• Reduction of budgets by 30%

• Parastatals to remit 80% of after-tax profit to Treasury

• Regulatory commissions to remit 90% of surplus funds

The president warned that loss-making parastatals were likely to be wound up. “We have to shut down some of those loss-making parastatals. We must end excess capacity.”

The government also ordered the suspension of production or procurement of branded corporate wear and any other promotional materials. Read More.

🎯 KRA to Miss Targets Amid eTIMS Challenges

According to the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is likely to miss its tax collection target for the 2023/24 financial year by Ksh330 billion. 

In the last eight months, the authority has only been able to raise 55% of the targeted Ksh2.787 trillion, leaving just four months to collect the remaining Ksh1.2 trillion. The Ksh330 billion will be 13.2% below target.

Meanwhile, the electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS) registration deadline is closing in and KRA has only been able to register 186,530 taxpayers out of the targeted 915,000. The deadline is set for March 31. Read More.

🏆 NSE Sets Performance Record

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has been on an upswing in 2024, recording its highest single-day turnover totaling Ksh3 billion on Monday, March 25, and trading over 141 million shares.

This upswing has been remarkable, making the NSE emerge as the world's best-performing stock market in 2024 with approximately 40% in US Dollar returns.

The exemplary performance has been driven by the strengthening of the Kenyan shilling, which has appreciated by 22% since January.

BlackRock, one of the world’s largest asset managers, has made an investment in the NSE just as the stock market is emerging from its worst year in history. Read More.

💰 Other Money News

• Civil servants living in government-owned houses might have their rent tripled. Read More.

• Kenya Airways has turned a corner by announcing an operating profit after seven years. Read More.

• Some European Union (EU) countries, including France, Denmark, and Sweden, are proposing to restrict the export of used clothes (mitumba). Read More.

• Kakuzi is set to ship out 20 metric tons of Hass avocado to India at the end of the month. Read More.

• Flower farmers will now benefit from the UK's suspension of the 8% duty fee on fresh-cut flowers. Read More.

• Sugar imports have dropped to a seven-month low after sugar factories resumed operations. Read More.

Want more details? Check our full weekly update here:

MONEY TIPS & TOOLS

This week’s finance tips

Welcome to Money254's Money Tips! Here, we share quick and easy tips that make understanding and managing your money a breeze. We break down the tricky parts of your finances and the financial landscape, making it simple and clear for you. Stay tuned for helpful tips every week.

MONEY254 #MONEYTOK OF THE WEEK

Budgeting Ksh100k Salary in Nairobi

In today's #MoneyTok, we are asking what is the maximum amount one can save with a salary of Ksh100,000 gross if they are living in Nairobi, single and they are in their first few years of employment? Check out the Math.

@money254hq

What is the Maximum Amount You Can Save on a Ksh100k Salary? #Money254 #Salary #Income #Savings #Moneytok #Personalfinance #fyp

That’s a wrap for this week’s Money Weekly!

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Eric and the Money254 editorial team.