Deposit Taking Saccos have continued to record impressive growth despite challenges in the increasingly competitive and technologically sophisticated financial services sector.
According to Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority (SASRA) DT-SACCOs continued to show great depth of resilience and stability in the financial year ended December 2019.
The financial institutions posted a double digit growth rate in all the key parameters of performance in 2019, with total assets increasing by 12.41 per cent to cross the half-trillion mark and reach Sh 556.71 Billion according to SASRA latest annual supervision report. The total deposits increased by 11.27 per cent to reach Sh 380.44 Billion.
“DT-SACCOs continued to show great depth of resilience and stability amidst increased competition,” the regulator says adding, “the simplicity of their lending procedures and requirements, which are largely premised on the availability of guarantors, and backed by sufficient non-withdrawable (BOSA) deposits, the demand for credit facilities from DT-SACCOs continued to grow resulting in the increase of the gross loans by 12.09% to reach Kshs 419.55 Billion, and which was largely financed by the deposit portfolio.”
According to the Kenya Financial Sector Stability Report, 2018 the Sacco sub-sector total assets share of the national nominal GDP was 5.55 per cent in 2018. It is projected that this share of the national nominal GDP will increase to about 5.72 per cent in 2019, thereby underscoring the importance of DT-SACCOs in the economy.