Lower Pra Community Bank grows profit
Lower Pra Community Bank PLC has recorded a significant growth in profit before tax for the 2025 financial year, the Board Chairperson of the bank, Felicia Aba Dawood, has said.
Addressing shareholders of the bank at its 38th Annual General Meeting (AGM) at Lower Pra last Saturday, the Board Chairperson said the bank’s profit before tax surged by 61.14 per cent to GH¢35.1 million, up from GH¢21.8 million recorded the previous year, reflecting the bank’s strong recovery and strategic repositioning despite challenging economic conditions.
Total assets also expanded by nearly 30 per cent, rising from GH¢379.5 million in 2024 to GH¢491.7 million, while customer deposits grew by 26.9 per cent to GH¢423.4 million, indicating strong depositor confidence in the institution.
This led to expansion in the loans and advances the bank extended to customers, which saw an exceptional growth of 46.8 per cent, from GH¢104.9 million to GH¢154 million, demonstrating the bank’s commitment to financing local economic activities, including agriculture, fishing and small businesses within its catchment areas.
Ms Dawood also told the shareholders that the bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio stood at 22.17 per cent, significantly above the Bank of Ghana’s regulatory benchmark of 13 per cent, while the Non-Performing Loans ratio remained low at 3.29 per cent, reflecting prudent credit administration.
Dividend and bonus shares
In recognition of the bank’s strong financial performance, the Board of Directors recommended a dividend of GH¢0.30 per share for the 2025 financial year.
Additionally, shareholders will receive a bonus share allocation equivalent to GH¢2 for every existing share held, as part of efforts to strengthen the bank’s capital base.
The board also proposed the conversion of dividend payments into shares, following the bank’s official transition from Lower Pra Rural Bank PLC to Lower Pra Community Bank PLC, effective April 1, 2026.
Awards, CSR
The Board Chair also announced that the bank received several prestigious awards during the year under review, including the Rural Bank Brand of the Year Award, the Best in Rural Banking Award, and the Excellence in Sustainable Growth and Longevity Award.
The bank also received the Best RCB in Branding and Marketing Award from Malaysia.
Ms Dawood said the bank invested about GH¢457,000 in corporate social responsibility initiatives during the year under review, focusing on education, sanitation, community development and social support programmes within its operational areas.
The board chair expressed gratitude to shareholders, customers, management and staff for their contributions to the bank’s success, declaring: “The future of our bank remains very bright.”
The ARB Apex Bank PLC, the mini-central bank of community banks, congratulated the bank on its successful transition from a rural to a community bank under the Bank of Ghana’s Microfinance Sector Reform roadmap.
The Head of Human Capital of ARB Apex Bank, Francisca Dedei Afutu, who read a speech on behalf of the acting Managing Director, Curtis William Brantuo, congratulated the bank on its successful transition under the Bank of Ghana’s Microfinance Sector Reform roadmap.
Mr Brantuo outlined four pathways for compliance with the new minimum capital requirement of GH¢5 million for community banks.
They are standalone compliance, consolidation through mergers, asset and liability transfer, or regulatory action for non-compliant institutions.
“ARB Apex Bank, therefore, urges the board and shareholders to take the following actions with urgency: conduct an immediate capital adequacy assessment, develop a clear capital mobilisation strategy, secure shareholder commitments, submit a credible recapitalisation plan, and ensure full compliance before the deadline,” the acting MD of ARB Apex Bank stated.
