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customers showing a somewhat greater willingness
to set money aside for emergencies and unforeseen
expenses.
We hired 83 people during 2007, bringing the total
number of employees to 188. The bank continued
to place a high priority on professional development
activities for its staff, as reflected in the
level of expenses it incurred for international
training measures, which amounted to over USD
400,000 – double the figure for 2006.
The favourable development of the bank’s business
was reflected in the values it reported for
key performance and efficiency indicators in
2007. At 63%, the increase in total operating income
was more than sufficient to compensate for
the increase in operating expenses (+45%), resulting
in a cost/income ratio of 74%. The bank’s
capital ratio stood at 43% at year-end, well above
the 10% minimum required by the Central Bank
of Congo.
Summary and Outlook
After only 28 months in operation, ProCredit Bank
Congo achieved very satisfactory results as of
the end of 2007, especially with regard to deposit
growth and the size of its client base. Its customers
already accounted for close to half of the total
client base of the banking sector in the DRC.
Throughout 2007, we continuously enhanced
our reputation as a stable and trustworthy bank.
Helping to revive public confidence in financial
institutions, which was almost non-existent following
the collapse of the banking sector in 1997,
has been one of our main achievements. Our emphasis
on getting to know our customers and
building close, long-term relationships with them
has clearly paid off.
Nevertheless, expanding our branch network and
finding qualified personnel remain significant
challenges to meeting the increasing demand
for our services and to implementing ProCredit’s
“neighbourhood bank” concept on a larger scale
in this vast country. The use of electronic and
automated transaction technologies is helping
to ease congestion in the branches. The opening
of several branches in Kinshasa and the launch
of our regional expansion into the provinces will
prove pivotal in the coming year.
M a n a g e m e n t B u s i n e s s R e v i e w
The training centre that we opened in 2007 will
significantly enhance our ability to provide staff
training and development services on the scale
required to support the planned growth of the
branch network. Increasing numbers of middle
management staff from our bank will receive
training at the ProCredit Regional Academy for
Africa and at the ProCredit Academy in Fürth,
Germany.
Our ability to offer a comprehensive range of
credit products tailored to the requirements of
the various segments of our target group will be
enhanced by the introduction of more intensive
training for loan officers serving SMEs and preparations
for the launch of agricultural loans.
Whilst we are proud of what the ProCredit Bank
team has achieved so far, we are well aware of
the challenges that lie ahead. We know that the
next three years will be decisive in terms of positioning
our institution for long-term, sustainable
growth in our target markets.