BEIGE records impressive outturn in 2016
Beige, financial services providers, has returned an impressive performance in its portfolio of businesses last year, meeting all of its major targets and expectations.
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Besides multiple acquisitions to complement its technical and resource capacity, BEIGE also invested in processes and human capital to strengthen its preparedness for the next phase of its evolution and operations – offering solutions in five broad financial service areas.
Banking arm
The banking arm of BEIGE, which controls about 30 per cent market share out of the 37 savings and loans companies in the country, posted GH¢19 million in profit before tax, a 77 per cent increase over the figure recorded the previous year.
BEIGE Capital Savings and Loans (BCSL) also recorded interest income of GH¢301 million for the year ended December 2016, compared to the GH¢172 million recorded last year, again an increase of 75 per cent.
The Chief Executive Officer of BEIGE, Mr Mike Nyinaku, who disclosed this in an exclusive interview with the Daily Graphic, said the feat was driven by continuous lending in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) segment, as well as continued emphasis on creating quality and liquid assets.
“BCSL maintained nonperforming loans (NPLs) under seven per cent of its total loans book of more than GH¢500 million,” he explained. The figure is well below the universal banking industry average of 17.7 per cent.
BCSL’s total operating costs for the period amounted to GH¢66 million, with personnel cost accounting for about 19 per cent. Other core operating costs included Information and Communication Technology (ICT), energy and maintenance.
Mr Nyinaku said BEIGE Capital also grew its assets by about 46 per cent from GH¢818 million in 2015 to about GH¢1.12 billion at the close of last year, a significant outturn in the profile of savings and loans companies.
He explained that the stellar performance last year had buoyed the company’s optimism even more for the ensuing year.
Processes
The growth in the business also impacted its human resources and processes, with the banking arm alone employing over 2,000 people.
The group also made significant investments in preparation of becoming a universal bank, including the deployment of a modern banking software, the Temenos 24.
“We, today sit at a position that makes us a stronger institution than we ever had been since our inception, thanks to our consistent approach to marketing and business development,” the Group CEO said.
BEIGE evolution
As of today, BEIGE has evolved from being a single savings and loans company into a multi-layered financial services provider with a banking, pensions, life insurance, health insurance and asset management.
“Our evolution process which began late last year is still ongoing and we hope to be fully done with it by the end of this year. The process looks lengthy but it can only be so as there are a lot of stakeholders – staff, clients and others – all who must all be prodded along to understand what we are doing so they come along with us.
“In the end, BEIGE would be that one big firm that provides a variety of financial services solutions to the general public,” the chief executive said.
