Staff Writer
Zimbabwe’s largest building society, CABS, delivered strong financial performance in the first half of 2025, demonstrating its strategic focus and continued resilience.
During the same period, the Bank paid US$1.92 million and ZiG52.7 million in corporate tax in response to the new legislation that now requires building societies to pay corporate tax; hence, the Bank has been compliant with effect from 1 January 2025.
Chief Executive Mehluli Mpofu, in a statement of the financials, said the introduction of the ZiG currency in 2024 contributed to the stabilisation of inflationary pressures.
“During the six months ended 30 June 2025, the Society recorded profit after taxation amounting to ZiG396.53m, a significant increase from the ZiG110.43m recorded in the same period in 2024.
“This growth reflects improved revenue generation and disciplined cost management,” he said.
He said net interest income increased to ZiG421.69 m from ZiG78.96 mln in June 2024, supported by a combination of increased lending and better asset-liability management. “Similarly, net fee and commission income increased by 88.8% to ZiG647.89 mln compared to June 2024: ZWG343.02m, driven largely by augmented digital transaction volumes and improved service uptake across customer segments,” said Mpofu.
Mpofu also noted that the Society’s balance sheet continued to strengthen, recording growth of 18.3% from ZWG12,858.88m as of December 2024 to ZWG15,215.27m by June 2025.
“This growth was largely driven by credit line drawdowns and increased lending to productive sectors of the economy,” he said.
During the period under review, Mpofu said the bank continued to invest in innovation, delivering digital innovation through ongoing transformation programmes designed to enhance customer convenience, strengthen system reliability, and drive operational efficiency.
“Our digital banking landscape continues to evolve, and we remain deliberate about enhancing our product offering.
“We launched the Corporate Internet Banking platform with key features that include digital tokens and bulk payments,” he said.
He added that the bank also launched digital account opening, facilitating instant account opening for customers.
“The mobile banking suite now supports additional services such as city parking, and we progressed the rollout of deposit-taking and offsite automated teller machines (ATMs), bringing our total deployment to over 80 ATMs countrywide,” said Mpofu.
In the economy, Mpofu said the bank continues to play a proactive role in financing key sectors of the economy.
He said the Bank supported the women-led small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) empowerment programme.
“Under the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) initiative, CABS partnered with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to develop targeted financial products and capacity-building programmes. This took place in 2025, furthering CABS’s commitment to advancing gender-inclusive investments,” he said.
The Bank also supported productive sector financing through extending tailored credit and guarantee schemes, drawing on government facilities including the Targeted Finance Facility (TFF).
“Though the initial work was done in 2024, the disbursements were done in the first half of 2025, facilitating more loans through our network,” he said.
“On 8 June 2025, we expanded our outward payment capabilities, adding five new currencies – Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Swiss Franc, Japanese Yen, and New Zealand Dollar – to our existing United States Dollar, Euro, Great Britain Pound, South African Rand, Botswana Pula, and Chinese Yuan options.
“This milestone brings total supported currencies to 11, facilitating smoother international transactions for our customers,” he said.
Mpofu noted that the Bank’s efforts in driving financial inclusion were recognised through two national awards.
CABS was named Best Financial Institution Supporting SME by the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) and Leading Local Financial Institution Brand by Buy Zimbabwe.
Mpofu said these awards reflect the bank’s continued commitment to driving access to financial services across the country.
