Officials of Zenith Bank
Henry Oroh, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Zenith Bank Ghana, has appealed to government to speed up its plan to issue the energy bond to pay the legacy debt and inject liquidity into the sector.
According to him, the high NPLs in the industry pose a major challenge to financial institutions, especially those that have been caught in the legacy debt ‘web’.
Speaking at the launch of the bank’s 12th anniversary celebration at Zenith Heights, its new head office in Accra, Mr Oroh urged government to aggressively pursue its objective of achieving a GDP growth of 6.3 percent, as well as a fiscal deficit of 6.3 percent in 2017 to reduce the public debt to attract investors.
Commendation
“Government’s efforts in currency stabilisation, low interest rate regime and stable inflation will go a long way to reducing the cost of doing business, allow for proper planning and make credit accessible to the private sector for accelerated growth.”
He said government’s industrialisation agenda, as reflected in its flagship initiatives like the Planting for Food and Jobs and One District-One Factory Project, were equally laudable steps aimed at fostering economic development.
New minimum requirement
Noting that Zenith Bank’s existing capital meets the GH¢400 million new minimum capital requirement recently announced by the BoG, the CEO said over the years, Zenith had consistently improved its operating capacity, size, market share and industry rankings to become a beacon of impressive financial performance, creativity, innovative products and services, as well as customer service excellence in the Ghanaian banking industry.
Network
Currently, operating in thirty five (35) strategic business locations, connected online, real time and with ATM facilities across the country, the bank operates to make banking easy for customers.
Its cutting edge ICT platform sets it apart from competitors.
Financial Performance
Following the robust financial results Zenith Bank Ghana recorded at the end of the 2016 financial year, the bank has accomplished yet another earnings milestone for the half year ended June 30, 2017.
The bank’s gross earnings grew by as much as 27% over the same period last year to a remarkable GH¢319 million in June 2017, confirming the bank’s excellent ability to optimise its portfolio of activities in a mixed economic climate.
Net interest income grew from GH¢119 million in June 2016 to GH¢152 million in June 2017, a growth rate of 27%.
Total operating income grew by 20% from GH¢168 million in 2016 to GH¢202 million in 2017.
Profit before tax grew by 10% from GH¢92 million in 2016 to GH¢102 million in 2017 while net profit attributable to shareholders of the bank grew by 12% to GH¢66 million.
Achievements
It emerged the 7th Most prestigious Company in Ghana at the Ghana Club 100 (2016), and has a lot of other awards to its credit.
A business desk report