GetBucks grows loan book

BUSINESS REPORTER

GetBucks Microfinance Bank’s loan book in the quarter to March 31, 2023 grew to ZWL$1.96bn from ZWL$225.86m reported in the prior comparative period.
This resulted in increased revenue in the reviewed period.
“The institution saw an increase in revenue by 346% in comparison with the same period in the prior year in line with the significant growth in the loan book.
“However, the revenue growth did not match the growth in operational expenses resulting in an increased loss of 293% compared to the prior year,” GetBucks managing director, Edwin Chavora said.
Getbucks’s loss in the reviewed period widened to ZWL$171.2m from ZWL$58.41m recorded during the same period last year.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe maintained a tight monetary policy stance throughout the first quarter of 2023 but the local currency continued to depreciate at an alarming rate.
Chavora said the new policy rate of 140% was sufficiently high enough to dissuade speculative borrowing despite the bank policy rate being reduced from 200% to 150%.
“Despite the tight monetary policy stance, the ZWL$ continued to slide against the US$ causing an increase in operational expenditure throughout the economy,” he said.
GetBucks did not declare a dividend during the reporting period.
Chavora said the environment was projected to continue to be challenging in the short to medium term as authorities try to arrest the rapid devaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar.
He said naturally, in such an environment the demand for loans was very high.
In the outlook, Chavora said Getbucks would continue monitoring the impact of the measures to stabilise the exchange rate and macro economy as given by the authorities, to manage any emerging risks while taking advantage of any opportunities that will emerge.