GCB Bank has been ranked first in four key industry metrics for the 2025 financial year following the 2026 Banking Sector Survey conducted by reputable international accounting and advisory firm, PwC.
The industry metrics in which GCB Bank outperformed local competitors were deposits, loans and advances, operating assets, and total operating income.
The feat comes on the back of interesting statistics accumulated by the bank.
GCB held 12.37 per cent of industry deposits, 1.85 percentage points higher than the closest competitor at 10.52 per cent, and 17.8 per cent of loans and advances, compared with 14.2 per cent for the second-ranked bank in this category.
GCB also accounted for 12.3 per cent of the industry’s operating assets, against 10.8 per cent for the second best in the metrics.
GCB’s share of industry operating income also rose to 14.2 per cent in 2025, up from 12.5 per cent in 2024.
Taken together, the rankings offered a view of the franchise from both sides of the balance sheet: a large deposit base provides funding capacity, while GCB’s lending, operating-asset and income shares indicate the scale at which that capacity is being deployed.
This matters at a time when the economics of banking in Ghana are changing.
Central argument
PwC’s central argument was that falling rates were beginning to test a banking model still heavily dependent on interest income.
The report argued that banks would increasingly need to combine balance-sheet strength with stronger asset deployment, broader revenue sources and better operating efficiency as margins tighten.
With roughly seven out of every 10 cedis of industry income still linked to interest, the value of scale will increasingly depend on how efficiently banks can deploy it as margins narrow.
GCB’s profitability numbers, however, add another layer to that picture.
PwC reports that the bank’s return on equity increased from 29.8 per cent in 2024 to 34.0 per cent in 2025, the highest among banks in its first-quartile peer group.
The result suggests that the expansion in scale was accompanied by a higher return on shareholder equity, even as the industry moved into a lower-rate environment.
Commenting on the findings, GCB Bank Managing Director, Farihan Alhassan, said the bank viewed its market position as carrying a wider responsibility.
“Our continued leadership across key balance-sheet indicators reflects the trust customers place in GCB and the strength of our strategy and people. We value this trust and remain committed to deepening customer relationships and supporting businesses and households,” he said.
Mr Alhassan added that the bank’s focus remained on customer-led growth, digital transformation and strengthening its people and culture as competition across the industry intensified.
GCB’s half-year results appear to suggest the momentum has been carried into 2026.
By June this year, customer deposits had reached GH¢51.49 billion, net loans and advances had reached GH¢22.19 billion, while the non-performing loans ratio declined to 4.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, operating income rose 36.1 per cent year-on-year, while profit before tax increased 45.8 per cent.
The PwC rankings provide a useful picture of where GCB ended in 2025, showing also that GCB enters that transition with considerable scale.
The real differentiator will be the ability to turn deposits into productive assets, those assets into sustainable income, and scale into consistent returns without allowing asset quality to weaken.
