ADB recovers GH¢500m debts in 9 months

The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) PLC has embarked on an aggressive recovery exercise, leading to the recovery of over GH¢514.99 million non-performing loans (NPLs) in nine months between January and September this year.

The exercise is part of the listed bank’s two-year corporate strategy to recover NPL portfolio which is largely made up of years of bad legacy loans.  

In a bold step to address this, management took measures to resource the Bank’s Recovery Department to ensure aggressive recovery of all NPLs as part of its 360 degree recapitalisation agenda.

The bank said the achievement by the management and staff was a testament to its unwavering commitment to cleaning its books, fostering prudent lending practices and robust risk management, while also protecting its customers and upholding best practices.

The bank’s improved risk management practice has also gone a long way to significantly reduce its NPLs, engendered confidence and strengthened its financial stability.

Perseverance

The Managing Director (MD) of ADB, Alhassan Yakubu-Tali, who has been at the helm of affairs for less than two years, said the bank’s recovery strategy, coupled with the expertise and perseverance of the Recovery Department were the results of the impressive feat which had helped enhance shareholder value.

“Our proactive approach to loan recovery has paid off. We will continue to work closely with regulatory bodies to ensure the integrity of our loan portfolio and maintain the highest standards of risk management,” the MD said.

Mr Yakubu-Tali added that the aggressive recovery exercise so far had greatly impacted the bank’s operations, augmented its comprehensive recapitalisation agenda, and put the bank on the path of sustained growth and profitability. 

Commitment

The General Manager (GM) in charge of Recoveries, Sylvia Nyante, stated that the successful recovery rate reflected the commitment of all stakeholders to ensure the achievement of the bank’s recovery objectives.

“Management took a bold decision as part of strategy to focus on recovery which is yielding significant results,” she said.

“The objective of this exercise is to ensure total recovery of all historical NPLs and so we want to thank all our stakeholders and customers for their support in this process so far,” Ms Nyante added, saying the bank would continue to intensify its collaborative efforts with all stakeholders for a successful exercise.

Background

ADB PLC is one of the biggest universal banks in the country and a leader in agribusiness financing.

The bank has recorded a strong financial performance from all indicators, including deposits, profitability and asset growth.

It also won several five-star awards at the recently held CIMG Customer Satisfaction Index Report Launch and Awards Night.