GCB Bank, the country’s largest indigenous bank, has presented GH¢14.1 million to government as dividend for profit generated in the 2020 financial year.
Speaking during the presentation, Managing Director of the bank, John Kofi Adomakoh, thanked the staff of GCB Bank for their hard work that made it possible for the company to achieve this feat despite difficulties that came with the pandemic and its impact on the economy and the banking industry as a whole.
“Last year was a very challenging year for most Ghanaian businesses as a result of the impact of the pandemic, and so many businesses were stressed and stretched and the banking industry as a whole had to be supportive of businesses in Ghana. GCB Bank was one of the banks that led the way.
Despite all these challenges, we managed to give some forbearance to customers; we managed to support them get through the difficult times of COVID-19. Despite all of these challenges, I am happy to say GCB declared a very respectable profit and as a result of that we are able to return some of the profit back to our shareholders,” he said.
He further reiterated the bank’s readiness to offer support to indigenous businesses in order to help them remain in business despite the threat from the pandemic.
“The future looks very bright. Despite the challenges, we at GCB see things differently. We see opportunity in the challenge. So GCB will continue to focus on developing indigenous businesses; we will continue to focus on aligning ourselves with what the government wants to achieve; and we will continue to help Ghanaians in general to develop their businesses and stay competitive in this difficult times,” he said.
Deputy Finance Minister, Dr. John Kumah, who received the check on behalf government, commended the management of the bank for staying afloat despite the heavy storm that hit businesses worldwide, of which the local economy was not spared.
“Let me commend the board, management, and staff of GCB Bank for all these impressive gains despite slow economic growth being experienced in the global environment as a result of COVID-19. I further commend GCB Bank Ltd for consistency and steady increase in dividend payment to its shareholders including government over the past years,” he said.
He further used the opportunity to encourage all state enterprises to emulate the good example of GCB Bank Ltd and manage their organisations well to contribute to revenue generation of government.
