The increase in 2021 over the previous year, which represented 14.43 per cent was achieved through improvements in revenue items, effective cost-reduction strategies and operational efficiency.

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the bank, Akanbangbiem Agamu Asokea, who was addressing the 22nd Annual General Meeting (AGM), said the bank’s total assets increased by 8.62 per cent to GH?45.92 million in 2021 from GH?42.27 million in 2020.

She stated that total deposits increased by 9.88 per cent from GH?35,267,585 in 2020 to GH?38,753,319 in 2021 while loans and advances also increased from GH?16,636,084 to GH?20,634,451, representing 24 per cent.

She said the bank’s stated capital increased by 18.89 per cent from GH?1,629,010 in 2020 to GH?1,936,816, which had exceeded the mandatory minimum capital requirement of GH?1 million for Rural and Community Banks (RCBs).

Assurance

She assured the shareholders that the board would do everything within its power to make the bank attractive to investors, saying “therefore, we appeal to existing and prospective shareholders to buy more shares to support the long-term investments of the bank".

On dividend, she disclosed that the board of directors had recommended the payment of dividend at GH?0.0165 per share on 13,806,774 ordinary shares, which qualified for dividend amounting to GH?228,654.00, representing 30 per cent of the bank’s profit after tax for the year 2021.

She further stated that at the end of the year under review, the bank was rated strongly by the Efficiency Monitoring Unit of the ARB Apex Bank Limited occupying the fourth position out of 147 RCBs nationwide.

Outlook

The chairman of Board said the bank would continue to pursue goals and strategies that would put the bank on the path of sustainable growth, protect depositor’s funds and operate within the regulatory limits to maximise shareholder value.

She stressed that the risk and compliance and internal audit units shall be strengthened to ensure the identification, measuring and mitigation of the various risks that the bank faced in its operations, as well as prevent and detect early fraud and other irregularities in the bank’s operations.

“The bank has invested funds in infrastructure to facilitate the deployment of various digital channels to better serve customers,” she noted, adding that “Our bank would continue to invest more in the productive sector to improve on the livelihoods of our people.”

Other speakers

The Managing Director of the ARB Apex Bank Ltd, Alex Kwasi Awuah, in a speech read on his behalf, commended the management and the board of the bank for the gains made over the period under review.

He expressed the hope that the bank would continue to devise and deploy more innovative strategies to help increase the bank’s profit margins, adding “I wish to commend the shareholders and esteemed customers for their support for the growth of the bank.?

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Builsa North, Vida A. Anaab, urged the bank to continue to come out with policies and strategies that would make available more affordable and flexible loans to farmers and the business community, especially micro and small businesses.