Ecobank Ghana Limited has announced an increase in the bank’s total revenue of GHS1.2 billion for the year 2016, representing an 18 percent growth from the 2015 performance.
Per the increase, the Board of Directors of the bank has declared a dividend of 82 pesewas per share at an Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Accra.
According to the bank, the Non Performing Loan (NPL) ratio in the same period decreased to 15.8 percent compared to 18.0 percent in 2015.
Speaking at the AGM, the Board Chairman, Mr. Terence Ronald Darko stated that the bank has also maintained a positive liquidity gap which will push the bank to higher growth levels.
“To shore up our liquidity position, our portfolio of instruments is well diversified in currency and other investments to provide optimum liquidity,” he said.
Highlighting the bank’s performance, Mr. Darko was of the view that the bank performed well despite the tough operating environment in the period due to strong gains from de-recognition of financial assets relating to the oil sector.
He stated for example that the bank was able to grow its deposits by 12% , with Non-Interest bearing deposits constituting the bulk of deposits at 75% of the total .
“Net Interest Income increased by 5% from GHS 682 million to GHS719 million, while Net Fees and Commission declined by 15% from GHS185 million to GHS157 million due to lower transaction volumes associated with the operating environment”
On profit before tax, Mr. Darko disclosed that the figure amounted to GHS462.7 million and was driven downwards by increased loan book impairments.
“Impairment charges were up 54% from GHS 116 million to GHS179 million. Operating cost GHS566 million was 26% over the previous year. Our cost to income ratio was however still impressive at 46.94%.
The ratio compares favorably to the industry average and is a testament to improvement in our return on assets and successful outcomes of our cost cutting initiatives,” he explained.
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By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana
