The Amansie Rural Bank PLC in the Ashanti Region has posted a strong financial performance for last year, with a profit before tax of GH¢36.02 million, representing 207.98 per cent growth over the GH¢11.69 million recorded in 2023.
The impressive performance was attributed to improved incomes generated from credits and investment operations, coupled with cost reduction measures, which also yielded growth in all indicators.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ben Kwakye-Adeefe, who disclosed this during the bank’s 40th annual general meeting (AGM) in Antoakrom in the Amansie West District last Friday, added that the bank’s total assets grew by 98.92 per cent, increasing from GH¢382.94 million in 2023 to GH¢761.73 million.
He said while customer deposits increased by 106.56 per cent, from GH¢332.99 million to GH¢687.82 million, shareholders’ funds, which represented the total investments of owners of the business, increased by 93.99 per cent from GH¢28.74 million to GH¢55.76 million within the same period.
This enabled the bank to also increase its investments in other assets by 154.96 per cent from the 2023 figure of GH¢214.45 million to GH¢546.76 million last year.
Mr Kwakye-Adeefe said the share capital of the bank increased by 45.81 per cent from GH¢4.49 million in 2023 to GH¢6.55 million, while loans and advances went up by 11.27 per cent from GH¢92.18 million in 2023 to GH¢102.57 million for last year.
The board chairman, however, advised customers to repay their loans on time to enable the bank to grant new ones to qualified applicants.
Dividends
Mr Kwakye-Adeefe said the bank had obtained prior approval from the Bank of Ghana to pay dividends to the shareholders for the financial year for two successive years.
A section of the shareholders
“I wish to inform you that our bank is among the banks approved by the BoG to pay dividends to the shareholders.
“It is partly due to your sacrifices, patience and support offered by the shareholders during the past years to enable the board and management to use retained profits from those years to develop the bank for future gains,” he said.
On corporate social responsibility, Mr Kwakye-Adeefe said the bank spent GH¢1.05 million in 2024, 151 per cent more than it did the preview year, on many projects, including the completion of the Amansie Community Centre in Antoakrom.
New branches
The Board Chairman further announced that a befitting office for the bank’s mobilisation centre at Datano had been completed, and since February this year, it had received the approval of the BoG to operate as a full branch.
Additionally, he told the shareholders that the BoG had given approval for the bank to open a branch at Manso-Keniago and that work on the new facility was ongoing, expressing the hope that the branch would begin operations by April next year.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the bank, Frederick Kwame Kyei, said the bank’s performance showed how prudent the board and management had been and pledged that the gains would be sustained in the years ahead.
He implored the shareholders to buy more shares and continue to have confidence in the management in their quest to drive the progress of the bank, stressing, “as a bank, we will continue to put in place good governance practices to ensure our continuous growth”.
Admirable resilience
The Managing Director of ARB Apex Bank, Alex Awuah, in a speech read on his behalf, said in spite of the economic uncertainties and industry-wide challenges, Amansie Rural Bank demonstrated admirable resilience, innovation and financial discipline.
He stated that the bank’s performance in the year under review was not just numbers but a reflection of prudent management, growing customer confidence and strong governance that was steadily driving the bank towards long-term sustainability.
Sustainability
To maintain the bank’s upward trend, Mr Awuah suggested to the management of the bank to consider digital transformation and operational efficiency, as well as strengthen its capital base and risk management structures.
The bank should deepen agency banking, mobile banking platforms and others to enhance service delivery, expand outreach and reduce operational costs.
“I encourage the bank to maintain a rigorous credit appraisal system, tighten loan monitoring and expand risk-based lending models to safeguard asset quality”, he added.
Writer’s email: gilbert.agbey@graphic.com.gh