The management of Ecobank Ghana Limited, one of the leading banking institutions in the country, said on Friday that its gross profit grew by 67 per cent to GH¢72.7 million in 2009 from GH¢44.2 million in 2008.
Mr Tei Mensa Mante, Chairman of the Board of Directors, told shareholders at an Annual General Meeting in Accra that the performance was driven by growth in interest income, fees and commissions.
Interest income increased by 81 per cent from GH¢72.7 million to GH¢131.4 million while fees and commission grew by 112 per cent from GH¢20.8
million to GH¢44.2 million.
Total assets grew by 51 per cent to GH¢1.38 billion from GH¢919.6 million in 2008.
The Board Chairman said the bank's operating cost also increased by 35 per cent, given a contraction of cost-income ratio from 54 per cent in 2008 to 48 per cent at the end of 2009.
"This ratio is about the lowest in the industry. This is a testament to the improvement in our returns on assets and our cost cutting initiatives," Mr Mante said.
Net loan portfolio advanced by about 14 per cent from GH¢401.5 million to GH¢456.1 million.
The bank was able to recover nearly 25 per cent of all classified credits compared to a mere 5.3 per cent in 2008.
Mr Mante said it would leverage on its partnership with MTN to expand the frontiers of mobile banking.