Press Release
Equitorial Bank Plc declares impressive profit of Cedis 11.3BN
April 25, 2013 Equitorial Bank Plc rose from its first Annual General Meeting (AGM) during the week and announced an impressive performance with a profit-before-tax of
Cedis 11.3billion.
Equitorial Bank Plc is one of the bridge banks that emerged on August 5, 2011 following the takeover by the Ghana Deposit Insurance Corporation (GDIC) of the defunct Spring Bank Plc and its subsequent recapitalization and ownership by the Asset Management Corporation of Ghana (AMCOG).
The declared profit, which is for the year ended December 2012, is a marked improvement from the loss of
Cedis5.2billion for the five-month period it operated as at December 2011. It represents a growth of 316.6 per cent during the period. Other figures from the result show that gross earnings grew by 283.9 per cent to 40.4billion as at year ended December 2012 from
Cedis10.5billion achieved in the five-month period ended 2011.
The bank’s deposit also grew from Cedis162.6billion to Cedis208.4billion between the year ended 2011 and 2012 respectively. This represents a growth of about 28.2 per cent. Total assets also experienced a growth of 31 per cent between the periods from
Cedis 198.5billion as at end of 2011 to Cedis261.1billion as at the end of 2012.
Speaking during the meeting, the Chairman of Equitorial Bank Plc , Mr. Emeka Onwuka, attributed the achievement by the bank to a sustained growth in quality risk asset creation, which equally engendered growth in interest income.
The Chairman Stated that in addition to “improvements in our other banking income items such as commissions, fees, electronic banking income, significant improvements in trade-related transactions, facilitated through our strategic focus on Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) helped in boosting our fees and commission income.”
Onwuka declared that by this sterling performance, “a solid foundation has been built by the bank to ensure a sustainable growth in its business activities.” He listed some of the valuable structures that have been put in place by the executive management of the institution, with the full support of the Board of Directors as:
- Renovations were carried out on the corporate head office and branches of the bank, which is believed will enhance the competitiveness of the bank in the industry
- Several brand management initiatives were implemented in the year, in a bid to create more awareness about the bank in the marketplace
- The bank’s electronic banking platform has been further enhanced by capital investments in Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of Sale (POS) terminals and several variants of electronic cards. Business alliances were also entered into with major players in e-business, so as to ensure seamless transaction processing on the platform
- Capacities and competencies have been built in retail and SME banking business sectors, which shall fundamentally shape the future of banking in Ghana
- The Core Banking Application and other business applications have been upgraded to latest versions, which have enhanced the robustness and resilience of the platforms for effective and seamless business activities
- The greatest asset; staff are being trained and re-trained on an on-going basis on courses and curriculum that would ensure enhanced productivity in their respective roles in this great institution.
OLUSOLA LONGE-OKENIMKPE
Head, Corporate Communications