Ghana: GCB Bank to leverage digitalisation to dominate industry

GCB Bank PLC says it is focused on accelerating its digital capabilities as a key driver to dominate the industry and create shareholder value.

Board Chairman, Mr. Jude Arthur, told shareholders at the 28th Annual General Meeting (AGM) that the future of banking and other businesses in general continue to be underpinned by digital transformation, adding that institutions that failed to prioritize digitalisation were going to encounter difficulties in remaining competitive in the market.

“Therefore, accelerating digital capabilities as a key driver to dominate the industry and create shareholder value is imperative,” he said, adding the bank will continue to accelerate its digital agenda by making the right investments to derive maximum value for the benefit of customers and stakeholders.

Some initiatives under the bank’s digitalization drive include the establishment of a data management unit to accelerate the development of relevant and innovative solutions, a Security Operations Center (SOC) to make the Bank more responsive towards cyber security threats and an upgrade of the Bank’s core banking platform from version 12.0 to 14.3 to enhance service delivery.

Overall, GCB posted a strong financial performance in 2021 on the back of strong internal collaboration among business units and support functions despite domestic and global challenges posed by COVID-19.

Mr Arthur said the growth was attained based on cost control, improvement in staff performance, management system and the augmentation of the Bank’s leadership in key areas to enhance the implementation of the Bank’s strategy.

“We remain focused in our quest to continuously deliver value to you, our shareholders. We can confidently say that the Bank is on the right path to become the dominant Bank in Ghana,” he said.

The AGM held virtually allowed shareholders to consider and adopt the Reports of the Directors, Auditors and the Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2021.

GCB Bank recorded a Profit before Tax of GH¢831.98 million in 2021 from GH¢602 million in 2020, representing an increase of about 36.2 per cent.

Profit after Tax grew 28.5 percent to GH¢572.28 million after adjusting for a 5 percent Levy applied following the enactment of the Financial Sector Recovery Act, 2021, Act 1067.

GCB Bank recommended a dividend of GH¢0.50 per share representing a 100 percent increase of dividend paid in 2020, subject to Bank of Ghana’s approval.

Net interest income increased by 25.6 percent; from GH¢1,508.70 million in 2020 to GH¢1,894.84 million. Net fees and commission income also increased from GH¢277.98 million in 2020 to GH¢359.53 million in 2021, representing an increase of 29.3 percent.

GCB improved its cost to income ratio from 58.0 percent in 2020 to 52.2 per cent in 2021.

Mr Arthur said the GCB Bank’s strong performance in 2021 was also due to the government’s and health authorities effective handling of the COVID-19 and the observance of the COVID-19 protocols by the public.

At the end of the meeting, shareholders adopted the 2021 audited financials and approved all resolutions on the agenda, including the declaration of dividend, re-election of the Board of Directors retiring by rotation, re-election of Directors, ratification of the appointment of two Non-Executive Directors and one Executive Director, remuneration of Directors and the authorization of the Directors to fix the remuneration of Auditors.

The Bank increased its al assets to GH¢18.40 billion, representing year-on-year growth of 19.1 percent, driven mainly by loans and advances to customers and investment in securities respectively.

Customer deposits which remain a key balance sheet component grew by 16.2 percent from GH¢11.96 billion in 2020 to GH¢13.90 billion in 2021.

The Bank’s equity recorded a growth of 23.3 percent from GH¢2.19 billion in 2020 to GH¢2.70 billion in 2021.

GCB Bank’s Capital Adequacy Ratio of 20.9 percent is significantly above the prudential requirement of 11.5 percent. An indication that the Bank is sufficiently capitalized.

The Bank’s Earnings per share increased by 28.6 percent from GH¢1.68 in 2020 to GH¢2.16 in 2021.