(L-R) Oseini Amui (Auditor with PWHC), Ogundimu (Access Bank MD), Frank Beecham (Board Chairman) and Albert Gyan, Company Secretary.
Access Bank Ghana Plc has held its 9th Annual General Meeting (AGM) to consider and adopt the Statement of Accounts for the year ended December 31, 2016 at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Accra.
Addressing shareholders at the meeting, Board Chairman, Frank Beecham, highlighted that the bank’s performance in 2016 reflected the economic challenges of the past three years, as the environment within which it operated was defined by peculiar political and economic uncertainty and the tightening of the fiscal space that had knock-on effects on the banking industry.
He further reiterated that despite the challenging economic conditions in Ghana, the bank is in a much better position to focus on delivering its objectives and transforming it into a large retail entity that can guarantee exceptional service to its customers.
Mr. Beecham added that “the achievement of our 5-year strategic plan to rank amongst the top tier banks in Ghana by 2018 is alive. The bank continues to enjoy and maintain a positive goodwill in the market, a recognition which was recently validated by its successful listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange.”
In 2016, the bank recorded a reduction in its profits by 44 percent to GH¢44 million, largely arising from loan provisions for outstanding legacy debts from the energy sector.
However, the bank has remained resilient and demonstrated that its growth prospects were largely on course as earning capacity and customer deposits saw growth.
Gross earnings of the bank increased by 16 percent to GH¢487.85 million from the previous year while customers’ deposits increased by 16 percent from GH¢1.7 billion to GH¢2.01 billion.
On shareholders’ funds, it increased by 19 percent from GH¢359 million to GH¢429.9 million and the bank’s total assets increased by 11%, rising from GH¢2.4 billion in 2015 to GH¢2.68 billion in 2016.
Speaking on the bank’s performance, Managing Director of Access Bank Ghana, Dolapo Ogundimu, noted that due to the various changes and strides made in 2016, the management of the bank is confident that the bank is well positioned to deliver greater value to shareholders in 2017 and beyond.
“With a strengthened capital position, the Access Bank we know today will be able to continue on its path of investing heavily in technology, mobile capabilities and other infrastructure,” Mr Ogundimu said.