Brakwa Breman Rural Bank records 257 percent profit increase
The Brakwa Breman Rural Bank Limited (BBRB) recorded a 257 percent profit increase in its profit margin before tax in 2021 as compared to the year 2020 ,the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Alexander Koomson has disclosed.
According to him, the bank improved its profit before tax from GH¢101,977 in 2020 to GH¢363,580 in 2021, representing a significant increase in the profit margin of the bank over the previous year.
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AGM
Addressing the 34th annual general meeting (AGM) of the bank, he said the bank’s total assets increased from GH¢22,518,121 in the year 2020 to GH¢24,288,938 in 2021, representing an overall appreciation of 7.86 per cent.
He said total deposits increased from GH¢19,553,650 in 2020 to GH¢20,097,280 in 2021, representing an increase of 2.78 per cent, saying “net loans and overdrafts portfolio increased from GH¢9,161,167 in 2020 to GH¢11,652,422, representing an increase of 27.19 per cent.
Equity position
He stated that the equity position of the bank also increased from GH¢1,793,243 in 2020 to GH¢2,034,138 at the end of the 2021 financial year, representing a 13.4 per cent increase over the previous year.
He noted that return on equity improved from 5.69 per cent in 2020 to 17.87 per cent in 2021, adding that “the bank made the required provision against its delinquent loans as well as cumulative provision for bad debt increased from GH¢341,754 in 2020 to GH¢479,448 in 2021, representing an increase of 40.29 per cent”.
“The paid up capital of the bank increased from GH¢1,086,271 in the year 2020 to GH¢1,091,571 in 2021, representing an increase of 0.49 per cent” he said, adding that “the board would like to encourage all existing and potential shareholders to increase the shareholding”.
He said “the prospects of the bank remained bright and that we urge shareholders to buy more shares to enable the bank to remain competitive in the rural banking sector”.
E-banking services
Mr Koomson indicated that the bank would acquire the needed skills set as those banks with open banking architecture which would enable BARB to provide banking services on strong technology platforms.
“In line with this and in addition to our reliance on Apex Bank, we would seek strategic collaboration with other partners in order to deploy services such as agency banking solutions across its catchment areas,” he said.
He stressed “this would involve cash-in-cash-out, remittances and other value-added services”, noting “The e-banking market is evolving at a very fast rate which would help the bank to improve its services to customers, create sustainable value for stakeholders while minimising and diversifying its risk.”
Commendation
The Managing Director of the ARB Apex Bank PLC, Alex Kwasi Awuah, in a speech read on his behalf, commended the stakeholders, customers, board, management and staff of the bank for the impressive performance even in the face of the challenges facing the financial services sector.
He said “the profits achieved by BBRB last year and other healthy financial indicators as contained in the board chairman's report were sufficient evidence of the effective management of the resources of the bank”.
“It is important to mention that your bank was rated satisfactory and ranked 34th out of 145 rural and community banks (RCBS) after the 2022 first quarter RCBs performance review by the Apex Bank” Mr Awuah noted.
He further appealed to borrowers to settle their indebtedness with the bank to enable other prospective borrowers to benefit from the bank’s lending, noting, “I wish to appeal to the shareholders to acquire more shares which is critical to the continued competitiveness and survival of the bank.