Nairobi — Prime Bank's after-tax profit for the first nine months of the year rose 60 per cent from Sh312.2 million to Sh500.7 billion as a result of increased lending.

During the same period, the bank's pre-tax profit grew 53 per cent from Sh426.2 million in September 2009 to Sh652.7 million in September 2010.

Prime Bank chief executive officer, Bharat Jani, said on Sunday that the performance reflects the bank's ongoing consolidation to increase productivity.

Loans and advances

Most of the bank's earnings came from interest on loans and advances to customers, as well from investment in government securities.

Loans and advances to customers during the period increased to Sh13 billion from Sh9 billion, while investment in government securities almost doubled to Sh10.2 billion from Sh6.3 billion.

Customer deposits rose 33 per cent from Sh18.6 billion in 2009 to Sh24.7 billion.

The bank's assets have reached Sh32 billion up from Sh22.9 billion last year, while on the on the other hand its total liabilities are Sh27.9 billion from Sh19.9 billion in 2009.