Luanda- The loan portfolio of Angola’s Caixa Geral Angola (BCGA) bank is currently estimated at 247.6 billion Kwanzas, corresponding to 380 million euros.
The bank, whose largest part of its capital originates from Portugal, recorded a net profits of around 34.5 million euros (over 22 billion kwanzas) in 2022, with a return on invested capital of an average of 30 percent over four years.
The figures on the bank's financial health were presented Tuesday to the Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa, who travelled to the bank's headquarters as part of a two-day visit to Angola.
Francisco Santos, BCGA's chief executive, said the bank has a net asset of around 1.4 billion euros and that it has managed to increase its share in the credit market to roughly 3.7 percent, representing almost 1.7 percent growth in the last three years.
In terms of deposits, the Bank registered more than 1% over the same three-year period.
With one of the highest solvency ratios in the Angolan financial system of around 30 percent, three times the minimum regulatory capital required from a bank, Caixa Geral is currently working to win more trust in the market.
BCGA, Santos said, is the eighth largest bank in terms of assets, in a financial system that has 25 banks.
This medium-sized financial institution has a 51 percent stake in Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD), which is 100 percent owned by the Portuguese state.
Caixa Angola also has two Angolan entrepreneurs, namely António Mosquito and Jaime Freitas in its shareholders structure since 2019, who after the Initial Public Initiative (IPO) each owned 19.5 percent of the bank's capital.
The remaining 10 percent was spread across around 700 new shareholders, including employees, corporate bodies, private investors, business groups, insurers and other Angolan institutional investors.
Caixa Angola has been in the market for 30 years, with a presence in nine provinces being currently one of the first private banks in the country, with 27 branches, 68,000 customers, of which 8,000 are companies.
Among several challenges faced by the financial institution, there is the quest, by the shareholders, in making the bank more tailored to the Angolan financial system and the development of digital channels.
Despite the results presented, one of the threats is the exchange rate volatility, the high cost of services in the country, entry of new international players, among other challenges.
