GCB Bank poses profit-before-tax of GH¢831.98 million in 2021; recommends dividend of GHS 0.50 per share

GCB Bank PLC has held its 28^th Annual General Meeting (AGM) via a virtual platform for its shareholders to consider and adopt the Reports of the Directors, Auditors and the Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2021.

The virtual AGM, which was held on Friday, June 3rd, 2022 was in compliance with Imposition of Restriction Act 2020 (Act 1012) and the Registrar General’s Department and Securities and Exchange Commission’s directives and guidance on holding virtual Annual General Meetings.

GCB Bank recorded a Profit before Tax of GH¢831.98 million in 2021 from GH¢ 602 million in 2020, a growth of about 36.2 per cent. Profit after Tax grew 28.5 per cent to GHS 572.28 million after adjusting for a 5 per cent Levy applied following the enactment of the Financial Sector Recovery Act, 2021, Act 1067.

GCB Bank recommended a dividend of GHS 0.50 per share representing a 100 per cent increase of dividend paid in 2020, subject to Bank of Ghana’s approval.

Commenting on GCB Bank’s financial performance, Board Chairman, Mr. Jude Arthur, stated that despite the domestic and global challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the strong financial performance was underpinned by strong internal collaboration among business units and support functions leading to improved efficiency and revenue growth.

He added that other factors including strong cost control measures leading to an improvement in the Bank’s cost to income ratio, improvement in staff performance management system and the augmentation of the Bank’s leadership in key areas to implement key elements of the Bank’s strategy contributed to the sterling performance.

Mr Arthur said the GCB Bank’s strong performance in 2021 would not have been possible without the measures implemented by the Government of Ghana to combat COVID-19, the professional handling of the pandemic by the health authorities and the observance of the COVID-19 protocols by the public.

The Board Chairman expressed appreciation to Mr. Nik Amarteifio and Mr. Prince Edward Amoatia Younge who retired from the Board during the year under review.

Shareholders participated and voted at the AGM through a dedicated online platform or through an SMS code using a unique token number. The AGM Proceedings was transmitted live on GTV and streamed across GCB Bank’s social media platforms.

The shareholders congratulated the Bank for the stellar performance despite the ravaging impact of Covid-19 on the economy. Shareholders also raised concerns about the risks posed by cyber security and impairment.

The Bank assured shareholders that it has deployed a comprehensive enterprise risk management system and continues to use world class consultants and internal experts to stay ahead of the threats posed by cyber security.

At the end of the meeting, shareholders adopted the 2021 audited financials and approved all resolutions on the agenda which included the declaration of dividend, re-election of the Board of Directors retiring by rotation, re-election of Directors, ratification of the appointment of two Non-Executive Directors and one Executive Director, remuneration of Directors and the authorization of the Directors to fix the remuneration of Auditors.

The new members of the Board whose appointments were ratified are Mr. Daniel Kwaku Tweneboah Asirifi and Honorable Dr. Stephen Amoah both Non-Executive Directors and Mr. Samuel Kwame Yedu Aidoo, Executive Director in charge of Wholesale and Investment Banking.

Financial Performance

GCB Bank recorded a Profit before Tax of GHS 831.98 million in 2021 from GHS610.83 million in 2020, an increase of 36.2 per cent.

Net interest income increased by 25.6 per cent; from GHS1,508.70 million in 2020 to GHS1,894.84 million. Net fees and commission income also increased from GHS 277.98 million in 2020 to GHS 359.53 million in 2021, representing an increase of 29.3 per cent.

GCB improved its cost to income ratio from 58.0 per cent in 2020 to 52.2 per cent in 2021.

The Bank increased its total assets to GHS 18.40 billion, representing year-on-year growth of 19.1 per cent, driven mainly by 19.2 per cent and 13.3 per cent increase in loans and advances to customers and investment in securities respectively,.

Customer deposits which remain a key balance sheet component grew by 16.2 per cent from 11.96 billion in 2020 to GHS 13.90 billion in 2021.

The Bank’s equity recorded a growth of 23.3 per cent from GHS 2.19 billion in 2020 to GHS 2.70 billion in 2021.

GCB Bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio of 20.9 per cent is significantly above the prudential requirement of 11.5 per cent. An indication that the Bank is sufficiently capitalized.

The Bank’s Earnings per share increased by 28.6 per cent from GHS 1.68 in 2020 to GHS 2.16 in 2021.

Progress on GCB’s Digital Journey

Commenting on the progress of GCB’s digital journey, the Board Chairman explained that GCB is focused on accelerating its digital capabilities as a key driver to dominate the industry and create shareholder value.

As a result, the Bank has appointed a Chief Digital and Marketing Officer to lead the Bank’s digitization efforts. It has also developed a business optimization unit to review and digitalize processes to eliminate human intervention and make the bank nimbler and more responsive.

Other initiatives include the establishment of a data management unit to accelerate the development of relevant and innovative solutions, a Security Operations Center (SOC) to make the Bank more responsive towards cyber security threats and an upgrade of the Bank’s core banking platform from version 12.0 to 14.3 to enhance service delivery.

He added that the bank will continue to make substantial investments in digitalization to ensure superior service delivery and derive maximum value for the benefit of customers and stakeholders.

Leadership & Talent Development

Mr. Arthur explained that leadership and talent development are an integral part of the Bank’s strategy to dominate the market. Therefore, a robust framework for a leadership pipeline has been developed to guarantee an adequate flow of talent to fill senior roles as part of the Bank’s succession management. This includes identifying high potential leaders and implementing tailor-made training and development to enhance their capacity and equip them with the right tools to provide innovative and dynamic leadership.