Absa Bank Kenya Plc reports that the company has spent Ksh 1.0 bn on court settlements in the financial year that ended on December 31, 2022. However, the details are still scanty as the bank did not disclose any specifics of the cases that led to this litigation expense.
Moses Muthui, Absa’s interim chief finance officer said in a statement that the expense from litigation was a non-recurring expense that they’re providing for. This expense pushed the bank’s overall operating expense by 12.0% to Kshs 18.7 bn from Kshs 16.7 billion in the previous years.
Additionally, the bank has reported that the growth in investments-related costs also added to the costs over this period.
Read: Absa Bank Kenya To Finance Acquisition Of KRA’s Electronic Tax Invoice Devices
This hot blow comes at a time when the bank reports growth in net profit by 33.9% to Kshs 14.6 bn from Kshs 10.9 bn over this period primarily attributable to their increased lending with a growing net interest at 27.7%.
The lender explained Absa relies on their legal team for counsel for any matters that may affect them negatively including any potential litigations and claims. In regard to this, the legal is on the clock working proactively with parties that may sue them to minimize any risk or costs arising from such cases.
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