Enyan Denkyira bank makes profit
Enyan Denkyira Rural Bank Limited made significant gains in all its financial items in 2012 compared with the previous year’s figures except a marginal drop in profit after tax.
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The rural bank made profit after tax of GH¢87,851 in 2012 as against GH¢89,405, which indicates a marginal drop of 1.7 per cent.
This was contained in the bank’s 2012 annual report presented to shareholders on Saturday at its 31st annual general meeting (AGM) held at Ajumako in the Central Region.
The highest gain of 39.5 per cent was achieved in deposits GH¢3.6million for 2012 compared with GH¢2.6million for 2011.
The report said advances for the year under review amounted to GH¢1.7million as against GH¢1.24million in 2011, which shows a growth of 35.2 per cent.
It also showed that total asset value of GH¢4.8million for 2012 included a 24.4 per cent growth over the 2011 figure of GH¢3.8million.
One significant detail under equity (assets ) as contained in the annual report was that the bank had achieved a stated capital of GH¢377,618 as at December 31, 2012, which is 26 per cent higher than the new capital requirement of GH¢300,000 every rural bank was expected to have to avoid being declared distressed in which case it has to prepare for a merger with other such rural banks.
Presenting the chairman’s statement, the Chairman of the Board of the bank, Mr William Panford Bray, gave the picture of the difficulties in the banking environment in 2012 and how the board adopted the strategy of increasing the bank’s consumer base “to pursue growth opportunities in consumer banking and improve our governance structures and process flows” to assuage the effects of those challenges.
“Starting the year with 6,032 customers, the bank’s customer base as at now has increased to 7,419,” he said.
Mr Bray appealed to shareholders to buy more shares to increase the bank’s stated capital further to strengthen its activities.
A speech delivered on behalf of Mr Kwadwo A. Kusi, Managing Director (MD) of ARB Apex Bank Limited,praised Enyan Denkyira Rural Bank for its performance in 2012, the dip in its profit notwithstanding, but urged the rural bank to continue to strive to improve its performance in the coming years to go beyond the bottomline.
The speech, delivered by Mr Enoch R. Arkaifie, Head of Credit Unit, ARB Apex Bank, appealed to the bank’s customers to deepen their savings habit and “ensure to pay all loans granted to you on due dates”, an appeal premised on the difficulty the rural bank faces in retrieving loans, especially from customers in the informal sector.
Concerning internal controls and management, the Apex Bank MD urged the rural bank “to strengthen your internal control systems to ensure that your operations are carried out in an orderly manner, consistent with best practices in the banking sector.”
He informed the AGM that the Apex Bank had struck a money transfer deal with Western Union, Vigo and MoneyGram so customers and other people in the rural bank’s catchment could contact it for money transfer services to avoid travelling long distances and incurring more transport expenses for the same services.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) of Ajumako-Enyan-Essiam, where the bank is located, said in view of the recent robberies suffered by some banks, “Enyan Denkyira Rural Bank should take its security seriously to safeguard all moneys in its possession.”
There was a solidarity message from other rural banks in the Central Region which was delivered by the President of the Central Region Association of Rural Banks, Mr Ronald Acquah Arhin, who is also a director at the Awutu Emasa Rural Bank.
He urged district assemblies to call for a change in their system of receiving revenues from the central government so that such revenues as District Assembly Common Fund could be channeled through rural banks as a way of supporting their growth.
By Kweku Gyasi Essel/Daily Graphic/Ghana