Okomfo Anokye Rural Bank posts significant growth
The Okomfo Anokye Rural Bank Limited at Wiamoase in the Sekyere South District in the Ashanti Region posted a satisfactory operational performance in 2014.
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The Directors of the bank have recommended a dividend payment of GH¢2.60 per share, amounting to GH¢112,869.08 representing 33.3 per cent of the bank’s distributable net profit after tax of GH¢463,846.
Operational performance
The bank’s total income improved significantly by 18 per cent from about GH¢5.3m in 2013 to approximately GH¢6.3million significantly contributed by loan interest income of a little over GH¢3.9million.
Total expenditure, including loan loss provision, increased by 16 per cent from about GH¢4.9million in 2013 to GH¢5.6 million, resulting in a pre-tax profit of GH¢504,179 being an increase of 21 per cent against the 2013 counterpart of GH¢416,199.
Total assets increased by 12 per cent from a little over GH¢19 million in 2013 to close the year at GH¢23.6million, driven largely by growth in deposits which was leveraged to create assets. The net worth increased by 11 per cent from GH¢1.9 million in 2013 to close the year at GH¢2.1 million largely due to plough back of profit.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr Kennedy Obiri Yeboah, announced these at the 29th Annual General Meeting of shareholders held last Friday at Wiamoase.
Operational environment
According to him, the bank registered a reasonable performance in all the performance indicators, in spite of the major economic challenges posed by heightened local competition as well as the many negative effects on the operations of the bank.
He mentioned that the challenges that the Ghanaian economy faced in 2013 continued on generally higher tone in 2014.
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“Energy supply challenges and rising input costs certainly lowered GDP growth. The fiscal front recorded widening deficit thus fueling increases in government debt, inflation and depreciation of the cedi. The petroleum price adjustments in the year did a lot also to accelerate the worsening of inflation.
“Many microfinance institutions that used unorthodox pricing regimes to enable them to out-compete others in the industry failed in their bid and eventually folded up. This affected credibility and deposit mobilisation problems in the industry.
“The weakened macroeconomic conditions, that is high rates of inflation, depreciation of the cedi and high interest rates, created liquidity constraints, especially in the banking industry, as rational businesses preferred to hold dollars or quickly purchase and keep stocks instead with the banking industry also experiencing increasing non-performing assets,” he said.
In spite of the challenges, Mr Yeboah said the bank continued to offer assistance to communities and institutions within its operational territories in terms of community development projects, saying, “a total amount of GH¢12,500 was spent in this direction. Areas that benefited included educational institutions, health, security, sports, district farmers’ day celebration, and scholarship awards to needy brilliant students hailing from or resident within the bank’s catchment areas.
Strategic Plan
During the year the bank revised its five-year strategic plan that elapsed in 2014 and now have in place a plan covering the period 2015 to 2019.
“We expect that once in-house human resources were used to develop the plan, its implementation will be much more effective,” he added
Microfinance Operations
A key objective in the bank’s 2015-2019 strategic plan is to strengthen the Microfinance Department and grow its loan and deposit portfolios to form up to 50 per cent each of the total loans and deposit portfolio.
“In view of this objective, 220 market stalls have been acquired at Suame, a busy commercial enclave in Kumasi, to be sold on loan to micro enterprises, mostly women, who meet basic loan conditions,” Mr Yeboah announced.
Socio-economic impact
The General Manager, Mr Peter Abako Goriya, told the Daily Graphic that the bank was committed to making a lot more impact on the socio-economic development of the people within their operational territories.
He emphasised that the Bank would continue to pursue a massive share and deposit mobilisation, follow rigorous cost reduction policies, strengthen internal control measures and develop the human capital to meet demands of functioning profitability in the competitive rural banking environment.