Amansie West Rural Bank Limited at Antoakrom in the Amansie West district of Ashanti Region has made some incredible gains in its operational performance for the 2020 year under review.
The bank posted a net profit of a little over GH¢5million in the 2020 period under review as against approximately GH¢1.2million in the previous year, representing a remarkable growth of 315%.
Chairman of the Board of Directors, Ben Kwaakye Adeefe Esq, announced these and more at the bank’s 36th Annual General Meeting of shareholders held last Friday at Antoakrom in Ashanti.
According to him, the global economy – including that of Ghana – experienced a turbulent period in 2020 with the advent of COVID-19. The intensity and gravity of the human, economic and social costs associated with the pandemic were unprecedented.
Ghana’s economy followed the global trends, with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declining to a record 0.4% in 2020 as against a growth rate of 6.5% in 2019.
In respect of these macroeconomic challenges which had to be surmounted, the bank redefined its operational strategies – considering its strength, weaknesses and the external threats and opportunities to mitigate the far-reaching effect, and managed to pull yet another remarkable operational performance in all the financial indicators for the 2020 year under review, as indicated in the table below.
Operational Performance
| Indicators | 2019 | 2020 | % Change |
| Deposit | 112,629,567.00 | 159,635,850.00 | 41.74 |
| Investment | 43,422,957.00 | 76,226,479.00 |
75.54 |
| Loans /Advances | 54,908,199.00 | 71,645,893.00 | 30.48 |
| Total Assets | 134,411,759.00 | 193,366,545.00 | 43.86 |
| Stated Capital | 4,131,958.00 | 4,161,893.00 | 0.72 |
| Shareholders Fund | 11,270,336.00 | 15,833,082.00 | 40.48 |
| Profit Before Tax | 1,212,717.00 | 5,032,443.00 | 314.97 |
Dividend
The Board did not recommend dividend payment for the 2020 financial year based on the Bank of Ghana’s Directive (Notice No. BG/GOV/SEC/2020/03) dated 20th April, 2020.
The Board Chairman appealed for the bank’s shareholders to accept the decision, but further educated them that the regulator’s Directive instructing banks not to declare and pay dividend is in a bid to build a resilient, strong liquidity and financial position for the bank; and also due to the negative impact of COVID-19.
He however assured shareholders that the reserved financial resources will be utilised judiciously in order to earn more profits for the bank’s growth and development to ensure payment of dividends in future.
Cocoa Purchases
The bank paid total cocoa transfers of GH¢86,778,040 in the year under review. There was an increment of 2.1% when compared with the amount of GH¢84,981,666 paid for cocoa transfers in 2019. Agroecom Ltd. (formerly Armajaro Ghana Ltd) purchased 60% of the total cocoa transfer through the bank.
Corporate Social Responsibility
The bank continues to offer assistance for communities and institutions within its catchment areas in terms of community development projects. In the year under review, the bank spent an amount of GH¢84,553 on corporate social responsibility activities toward stakeholders, with special focus on Education, Health and Security among others.
Future outlook
The bank’s General Manager, Mr. Frederick Kyei Kwakye, in an interview with Business & Financial Times said prudence and teamwork coupled with operational compliance have been pillars of the bank’s sustained growth, particularly in the disrupted environment.
According to him, the bank will continue being mindful of the environment in which it operates as a financial institution, and offer synergetic support to its clients that enables them to remain in business at all times.
In an address, Mr. Kofi Owusu – the ARB Apex Bank’s newly-appointed Kumasi Manager, on behalf of the Managing Director of Apex Bank, Mr. Alex Awuah, commended shareholders, directors and management of Amansie West Rural Bank for the impressive gains made in the 2020 financial year.
He applauded the bank for the year’s gains and urged staff to concentrate their efforts on the medium to small business segment, because that is where their strength lies.
