- records about 100% growth in profit
The Atwima Mponua Rural Bank PLC at Toase in the Atwima Nwabiagya district of Ashanti Region amid all the challenges – especially coming from the external business environment – has posted yet another impressive operational performance in the 2021 year under review.
The Board, in its quest to improve shareholder value, has proposed a dividend payment of
GH¢0.014 per share on 14,336,840 ordinary shares which qualified for dividends as per closure of register of October 31, 2021 – amounting to GH¢200,716 and representing 25% of the bank’s net profit for the year 2021, which is however subject to approval by the Bank of Ghana.
Meanwhile, the Board has applauded the shareholders’ patience and commended their faith in their directors’ ability to continue delivering value to Atwima Mponua Rural Bank PLC.
The bank has recorded a pre-tax profit of a little over GH¢1million as against approximately GH¢550,000; representing a percentage growth of almost 100%. This feat was achieved through improvements in the bank’s processes, periodic staff training and capacity building, and strict accountability.
The Board of Directors’ Chairperson, Mrs. Constance Phyllis Puttick, said these and more at the bank’s 38th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held last Friday at the Church of Pentecost auditorium at Toase in Ashanti.
Operational Environment
Developments in the global economy had a knock-on effect on the Ghanaian economy. Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate was 5.4% in 2021 compared to 0.5% in 2020. The upturn in growth resulted from information and communication, real estate, transport and storage and a rebound in import trade, cocoa, hotels and restaurant sectors of the economy.
However, the banking sector remained sound and well-capitalised, with strong growth in total assets and deposits throughout the year 2021despite effects of the challenges posed by COVID-19.
In spite of national and local macro-economic challenges, the bank managed to pull yet another remarkable operational performance in almost all financial indicators in the 2021 year under review.
Mrs. Puttick was happy to report that the period of her stewardship saw a cumulative year on year growth of 35.8% in total assets, 84% in short-term investments and 42% in deposit mobilisation.
Stated Capital
The bank’s stated capital increased to GH¢1,515,313 at end of year 2021 from GH¢1,508,713 the previous year, resulting in an increase of GH¢6,600 representing 0.44%. The increase emanates from the sale of 33,000 shares at GHp20 per share, which amounted to GH¢6,600. The number of shares also increased to 14,336,840 at the end of year 2021 from 14,303,840 in the previous year 2020, representing 0.80%.
Corporate Social Responsibilities
The bank continues to offer assistance to communities and institutions within its catchment areas, in terms of community development projects and financial support which amounted to GH¢111,020. The major social areas that benefitted include Education, Health, Sports, Recreation, Chieftaincy and Security.
Establishment of Anti Money Laundering
The bank has established an anti-money laundering system in compliance with the requirements of Ghana’s Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Act 2014 (Act874) and AML/CFT&P Guidance, July 2018. These include due diligence for opening new accounts, customer identification, monitory of high-risk accounts, record keeping and training of staff on money laundering – which assists in reducing regulatory and reputational risk to its business.
Corporate Governance
The Board of Directors is committed to ensuring good corporate governance in line with Bank of Ghana directives as a means of determining the bank’s direction and performance. To this end, the bank aims to comply with best practices in corporate governance.
The President of the Ashanti Chapter-Association of Rural Banks, Mr Patrick Owusu, addressing shareholders of Atwima Mponua Rural Bank urged them to have confidence in the Board and resort to dialogue in their dealings with it.
He further advised shareholders to increase their shareholdings with the bank and anticipate a long-term benefit with their investments.
Regulatory Advice
The Managing Director of ARB Apex Bank PLC, Alex Kwasi Awuah, congratulated the bank for its remarkable operational performance for the year under review.
He mentioned that government is currently beginning quite a number of planned activities to support MSMEs as part of its initiatives for economic growth. Mr. Awuah reminded industry players of the rural banks’ responsibility to play a key role in this strategic economic expansion.
“Our core niche market is small businesses in the communities where we operate, and so we are better placed to give the needed financial support to these smaller businesses and partner government for a successful execution of this laudable initiative,” he said.
He further urged management and the board to be extremely compliant and operate within the banking laws, and adhere to corporate governance policies as well as all regulatory directives to fit into the external business environment and attract government business initiatives.
He advised the shareholders to be decorous with their submissions whenever they attend AGMs because not all policies will favour them; however, whatever decisions the board takes will always be in the bank’s interest – backed by law and supported by the majority of shareholders.
Future Outlook
The bank’s Chief Executive Officer, Felix Owusu-Achiaw, in an interview said the bank will continue to play a significant role in government’s financial inclusion agenda and is poised to even to do more, since the bank has begun to leverage 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 grow in the area of managing credit needs of small and medium enterprises as well as continuing to improve upon the support it offers to this sector of the economy.
