Ecobank to sustain expansion programm

Story: Boahene Asamoah

ECOBANK Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of the Pan-African Bank, Ecobank Transnational Incorporate (ETI), is to deepen its expansion programme and develop new products to meet the needs of its customers.
The Board Chairman of the bank, Mr Tei Mensa Mante, who made this known at the annual general meeting of the bank in Accra yesterday, attributed the decision to the increasing competition in the banking industry characterised by market and product expansion.
Giving the operational results of the bank for last year, Mr Mante said the bank continued to grow and showed great resilience in an increasingly competitive banking sector, with net interest income increasing by 22 per cent from GH¢31.7 million to GH¢38.6 million.
“This was on account of the significant increase in earning assets against the backdrop of declining margins on these assets.
The bank’s profit after tax was up by 18 per cent from Gh¢16.5 million in 2006 to GH¢19.4 million in 2007.
Mr Mante said “such a strong profitability performance for a rapidly expanding bank in a declining-margin competitive industry underscores our commitment to growing superior returns for our valued shareholders.”
He said the bank grew its assets portfolio by 54 per cent from GH¢432 million to GH¢665 million as a result of the bank’s expansion drive.
The bank saw its total deposits rise from GH¢335 million in 2006 to GH¢437 million in 2007.
The board declared a dividend of GH¢0.083 for the year amounting to GH¢13.38 million, as against the previous year’s figure of GH¢0.067, representing 90 per cent of profit after tax.
The company’s share price appreciated significantly on the Ghana Stock Exchange during the year under review, gaining 48 per cent in 2007 and 82 per cent since its initial price offer of GH¢1.10 per share.
The Managing Director of the Bank, Mr Samuel Ashitey Adjei, in his statement said the bank had made significant progress in line with its medium term strategic plan by opening 11 more branches and expanding its Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) to 84.
Mr Adjei also mentioned the introduction of new products and services, such as the expansion of the Kiosk and Direct Sales Programme and the launching of the Ecobank Visa Gold Credit Card.
Shareholders gave the approval to increase the company’s capital to GH¢100 million.