Despite a challenging financial landscape, Mozambique’s largest bank, Banco Comercial e de Investimentos (BCI), witnessed a substantial 55% increase in profits for 2022, taking them to €113.3 million. This growth is attributed to improved services, increased activity, and value generation for customers and shareholders alike.
by Ali Hassan
Banco Comercial e de Investimentos (BCI), backed by the Portuguese state-owned Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) and regarded as the largest banking institution in Mozambique, saw its profits skyrocket to €113.3 million in 2022, marking a significant 55% leap according to financial reports examined by Lusa on Thursday.
The report highlighted that the bank, despite the “challenging market environment,” managed to retain its “market leadership.” BCI, through investments focused on service improvement, consolidation of activities, and creating value for its clients and shareholders, was successful in expanding its customer base to nearly 2.2 million.
The bank, boasting 2,712 employees and 211 branches spread across Mozambique, remains the country’s dominant player in the financial sector. This dominance is in terms of business volume, involving both credit and deposits, and overall assets.
According to the reports, BCI’s market share in 2022 stood at 24.25% in credit, 25.41% in deposits, and 23.68% in total assets.
BCI reported a net profit of 8,078 million meticais (€113.3 million) for 2022, a notable 55.25% jump compared to 5,203 million meticais (€72.9 million) in 2021 and a massive leap from the 2,671 million meticais (€37.4 million) reported in 2020.
This robust performance in 2022 is attributed to a blend of “positive and negative extraordinary effects,” spanning the previous year and beyond.
The bank, with a share capital of 10 billion meticais (€140 million), has a shareholder structure prominently led by Caixa Participações (51%) of the CGD group, the Portuguese bank BPI (35.67%), and directly by CGD (10.51%) among others.
The decision by the board to allocate 30% of the 2022 profits to legal reserves, which amounts to more than 2,423 million meticais (€34 million), and distribute the remaining 70%, over 5,654 million meticais (€79.3 million), as dividends to shareholders was revealed.
BCI’s total assets saw an 8% increase in 2022 to 202.7 billion meticais (€2.844 billion). However, loans to customers decreased by 6.29% to 70.718 billion meticais (€992 million). Meanwhile, customer resources or deposits swelled by 8.38% to 158.848 billion meticais (€2.229 billion), while the non-performing loans ratio edged up by 0.22 percentage points to 14.43%.
The report concludes by emphasising BCI’s commitment to its Mozambican workforce, which comprises 99.4% of employees. The proportion of these employees in senior management positions is a significant 94%, reflecting BCI’s dedication to nurturing and leveraging local human capital, thereby reinforcing its image as a bank deeply rooted in Mozambican culture.