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ECONET subsidiary Steward Bank recorded $30.1 million operating income for the year ending February 2017 compared to $24.3 million the previous year which is a 24 percent growth.

The increase has been driven by a rise in transactional volumes that resulted in a 49 percent increase in non-funded income to $28 million from $19 million in the prior year, the bank said yesterday.

During the period profit before tax of $8.4 million was recorded, a 36 percent growth from the $6.2 million reported in the comparative period last year.

Total deposits also grew by 56 percent to $144.6 million from $92.6 million recorded in the prior year as a result of an increase in individual deposits while loan and advances to customers declined by  6.6 percent to $52.6 million from $56.3 million due to cautious lending.

The bank’s liquidity ratio of 81 percent was more than double the minimum regulatory ratio of 30 percent, a trend attributed to a 161 percent increase in the bank’s cash and cash equivalents and growth in interbank placements.

Chief executive officer Dr Lance Mambondiani said the challenging economic environment has become an opportunity for Steward Bank to “show strength of its transactional banking model within turbulent times”.

“We are pleased that despite the economic headings, the bank’s income grew by 24 percent in this financial year, driven by a 49 percent increase in non-funded income, which rose from $19 million to 428 million during the period under review,” he said.

Dr Mambondiani said during the period the bank recorded a surge in the number of customers signing up for new accounts as evidenced by a 56 percent rise in deposits. The CEO said demand for its new products such as “Isave Account” as well as the “zama zama” account for small scale businesses had a significant impact on viability.

The bank also said growth in transactional income has been supported by intra-group synergies within the Econet Group in the mobile financial services space.