The Board Chairman of Afram Community Bank in the Eastern Region, Mr Jeffrey Konadu-Addo has said that the year 2020 has been very promising for the banking industry. He said he is very hopeful of impressive development in the financial sector after the completion of the sanitization exercise.
According to the Board Chairman, Afram Community Bank would continue to deepen all stakeholders’ relationships including ARB Apex Bank and the Bank of Ghana to strengthen our regulatory compliance framework.
Mr Jeffrey Konadu-Addo made this remarks whiles addressing the 37th Annual General Meeting held last Saturday at the Salem Presbyterian Chaple in Tease in the Kwahu Afram South District Assembly.
He announced that 2019 was a challenging year in terms of macro and micro economic performance which he blames on the unexpected weaker performance in some economies in Europe and Asia as the global economy kept on recuperating from the downward trend in 2018 with a growth rate of 3.7% in 2019 as well as 2018.
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Despite all these challenges, the Board Chairman, however, revealed that “Afram Bank recorded a profit before tax of Ghc 330,348.00 as at 31st December 2019 in fulfilment of our promise to get the bank on the path of profitability and creating value for shareholders equity investment.”
Educating the shareholders on the year to year performance of the bank as compared to the 2018 financial year, he explained that the Bank upon recording 330,348 in the 2019 financial year, however, decreased by 54.35% as compared to Ghc 664.606 profit made in 2018 as well as the 4.88% in the net interest income from Ghc 2,577,207 in 2018 to Ghc 2,451,315.
He, however, blamed the decrease in profit to the reduction in charges on the account, and other transaction as requested by shareholders during the 36th annual general meeting.
The bank, however, managed to record a slim growth in its total assets, operating income and interest income by 0.03%, 2.57% and 1.37% increasing from Ghc 20,649,887; 3,552,901 and 3804996 in 2018 to Ghc 20,656,366; 3644422 and 3857251 in 2019 respectively among others.
Report on the activities of the bank over the 2019 financial year stated that the board of directors are still persuing the expansion agenda as they are hoping to receive approval from the bank of Ghana soon to set up the three new branches at konogo in the Ashanti Region, as well as Abetifi and Anyimam in the Eastern Region.
Touching on the Bank’s cooperate social responsibility, Mr Jeffrey Konadu-Addo stated that the bank has continued to provide support to the Afram plains as well as other institutions in the catchment area which includes support to farmers day celebration by the Kwahu Afram Plains North and South Districts and Asante Akyem North District support to the Heath and education directorate of the Kwahu Afram Plains North District as well as the opening of an account with Ghc 100.00 initial deposit for people with disability (PWD) in the Afram Plains South District among others.
The Regional Manager of the ARB Apex Bank, Eastern Regional chapter, Nana Frimpong Daadum expressed his greatest gratitude to the Shareholders, Management and Staff of the Afram Community Bank for working hard to join the other two Banks out of twenty-four Rural Banks in the Eastern Region to record an impressive profit as others banks keep struggling to survive. He encouraged them to work extra harder to keep the bank flourishing.
Source: William Dei Gyau//ghananewsonline.com