ARB Apex Bank, the ‘mini’ Central Bank of the 144 Rural and Community Banks has announced that the bank recorded improvements in most of the important financial indicators in 2018.
The bank disclosed this at its Annual General Meeting organized in Ho in the Volta Region.
According to the financial statement of the bank, it made a moderate profit before tax of GH¢914,200 compared to the GH¢2.0 million recorded in 2017.
Total operating income rose from GH¢48.9 million to GH¢55.5 million, representing a growth of 13.5 percent.
The statement revealed that the Bank’s balance sheet grew by 20.9 percent, from GH¢326.4 million in 2017 to GH¢394.5 million in 2018.
Total deposits rose from GH¢277.9 million in 2017 to GH¢341.2 million in 2018, representing a growth of 22.8 percent.
Loans and advances grew by 26.4 percent to GH¢37.8 million at the end of 2018 from GH¢29.9 million in 2017.
The Board assured the Shareholders that, there were plans to implement various projects to improve upon service delivery and the income streams of the Bank and expressed optimism that the Bank would improve upon its profit performance and shareholder value in the years ahead.
The Board chair pleaded with the Shareholders for the deferment of the payment of dividends to shareholders, noting that, “due to the low capitalisation of the Bank and the need to increase the Bank’s stated capital, there is the increasing need for accumulation of profits over time as we pursue measures to attract additional capital.
“We, therefore, do not propose the payment of dividends for the year under review,” the statement said.
According to the statement, ARB Apex Bank spent a total of GH¢138,400.00 on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for the 2018 financial year as compared to an amount of GH¢303,600.00 spent on CSR for the previous year. The key beneficiary sectors under the Bank’s CSR programmes were education, health and community engagement.
