…. records 216 % growth in profit
The Juaben Rural Bank Limited in the Ejisu – Juaben Municipality of the Ashanti Region, has recorded a very remarkable operational performance in the 2019 and 2020 years under review.
The Bank recorded a profit before tax of approximately GH¢2.6million in the 2020 reviewed year as against GH¢ 815,639 in the previous year representing an impressive growth of 216.14%.
The Bank recorded a significant growth in deposit during the year under review in spite of Covid -19 pandemic and its associated economic challenges which affected many businesses during the year. Total deposit grew from about GH¢92.5 million in 2019 to GH¢132 million representing 42.68% growth in 2020.
With this remarkable performance, the Board has pledged to continue to work with management to sustain these gains which have been very consistent over the years. As the bank introduces more innovation and technology and improve efficiency and service delivery, the board and management are confident of even greater performance in the years ahead.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors, Lawyer Kwabena Asante Krobea announced these and more at the Bank’s 35th Annual General Meeting of shareholders held virtually last Saturday at the Bank’s head office conference hall in Juaben.
Operational environment
According to the Board Chairman, the 2019 and 2020 financial years had been very difficult for the Ghanaian economy and the financial sector in particular. Major part of the year 2019 was affected by the banking sector clean-up exercise and when they thought that the sector had recovered fully from this shake-up, the world was hit by the deadly Corona Virus pandemic which affected the Ghanaian economy very significantly.
Operational Performance
In spite of the challenging macroeconomic environment coupled with an unprecedented pandemic that pertained during the reviewed years, the bank managed to pull yet another remarkable operational performance in all the financial indicators in 2020 as indicated in the table.
| ITEM | YEAR 2020
(GH¢) |
YEAR 2019
(GH¢) |
% change |
| Deposits | 132,004,247.00 | 92,515,527.00 | 42.68% |
| Loans and Advances (Gross) | 42,794,272.00 | 39,286,315.00 | 8.93% |
| Investments | 85,320,640.00 | 47,483,163.00 | 79.69% |
| Total Assets | 152,957,021.00 | 111,869,579.00 | 36.73% |
| Paid Up Capital | 3,276,267.00 | 2,892,515.00 | 13.27% |
| Profit before taxation | 2,578,525.00 | 815,639.00 | 216.14% |
| Profit after taxation | 1,739,176.00 | 590,654.00 | 194.45% |
STATED CAPITAL
The Bank’s stated capital exceeded the regulatory requirement at the end of the year 2020. Indeed, the bank recorded a total paid up capital of GH¢3.276,267 million as compared to GH¢2.892,515 million in 2019 representing a growth of 13.27%. Even exceeding the minimum threshold over 200%, the shareholders have been encouraged and advised to buy more shares to secure their ownership with the bank.
DIVIDEND
The Board has over the years proposed and actually paid a substantial dividend to shareholders annually on shares. Unfortunately, due to the estimated impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on banks in general, the Bank of Ghana, directed all Banks and deposit taking institutions not to declare dividends for 2019 until further notice. In complying with Bank of Ghana’s directive, the Board of Directors did not propose dividend this year.
Meanwhile the board has assured shareholders that effective measures will be put in place to pay good dividends when the ban on the declaration of dividends is lifted.
Corporate Social Responsibility
Juaben Rural Bank in spite of the uncertainties surrounding the pandemic continues to initiate and support projects under its corporate social responsibility programs with the aim of giving back to society.
During the year, the Bank allocated a total of GH41,141 ¢million towards its CSR projects.
Covid-19 Support
As part of measures to ensure that the Bank’s customers and communities remain healthy in the wake of the outbreak of the COVID -19 pandemic, the Bank purchased and installed hand sanitizer dispensers at some strategic places in the Juaben, Ejisu, Aboaso, Fumesua, Kwaso, Onwe, Bonwire and Pankrono communities.
The Bank also presented Veronica Buckets, Tissue papers, hand Sanitizers, liquid Soap and gloves to the Juaben Government Hospital and other identifiable groups in the Bank’s catchment area as part of the Bank’s support to the fight against the Corona virus pandemic.
Future Outlook
With the future outlook of the Bank, the Board Chairman mentioned that they had learnt lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic and when they recount their experiences in those difficult moments, he could confidently say that Juaben Rural Bank is on the right path in terms of business sustainability and growth.
He further assured shareholders that the Board will endeavour to focus on delivering on its core mandate to enhance shareholder value and strong organizational growth rate. He added that the Board has put in place measures to ensure that the Bank takes full advantage of the Government of Ghana’s policies aimed at revitalizing the economy and resuming the transformational drive that was disrupted by COVID-19.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Bank Mr Augustine Awere Damoah in an interview said the Bank would continue to play a significant role in the government’s financial inclusion agenda and is poised to even to do more as the bank has begun to leverage the available technology to serve their customers better as well as improving efficiency and service delivery.
According to him, the Bank will continue to see its strength in the area of managing the credit needs of the small and medium enterprises as well as continuing to improve upon the support the bank offers to this sector of the economy.
In an address Mr George Annor the ARB Apex Bank Kumasi Manager on behalf of the Managing Director of Apex Bank, Mr Kojo Mattah commended the shareholders, directors and management of Juaben Rural Bank for the impressive gains made in the 2020 financial year.
He applauded the bank for the gains made for the year and urged them to concentrate their efforts on the medium to small business segment, because that is where their strength lies.
He further encouraged Juaben Rural Bank and all other member banks to strive to perfect the small business financing because that niche segment holds a huge potential for the rural bank sub sector.
