Ghana’s second largest bank, GCB Bank has outlined a strategic plan that hinges on three pillars.

The pillars are; Revenue Growth and Profitability, Operational Resilience as well as Talent and Culture.

Managing Director of the Bank, John Kofi Adomakoh said the strategy is due to the constantly changing business environment and disruptions across many fronts.

This calls for the business to ensure its strategy is relevant and well-positioned to proactively meet the needs and expectations of its clients, a decision that will generate sustainable profits and returns.

“Several developments impacting the banking sector, mainly African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), intensifying competition from both industry and non-industry players including FinTechs have reshaped the competitive landscape requiring the need to refresh our strategy and strengthen our execution”, he said.

“While we have consistently retained our number one position in the Consumer Banking segment, we believe there is a significant opportunity to further expand our market share and profits for this segment, leveraging digitization and the trust customers have always had in our bank”, he pointed out.

Mr. Adomakoh further said “our strategy recognizes the importance of internal collaboration among various business units and functions, with the objective to understand the unique needs of our clients and offer the right solutions in a cost-effective and capital-efficient manner.”

He therefore pledged the bank’s continued investment in Technology, Digitization and People to grow its market share of the payments industry in Ghana.

The MD also said growing revenue from trade finance, cash management and remittances will remain a key area of its strategy to drive non-interest revenue, adding, “our ambition is simple and it is to dominate the Retail and Wholesale banking segments in Ghana.”

2020 Financial Performance

Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, GCB Bank performed reasonably well during the year under review.

The improvement in financial results was supported by balance sheet growth and income diversification.

It recorded growth in Profit before Tax of GH¢610.83 million, from GH¢573.67 million in 2019, up 6.5% attributable to revenue growth.

Net interest income was up 29.1%, from GH¢1.16 billion to GH¢1.5 billion.

Net trading income also grew by 17.6% to GH¢166.63 million, from GH¢141.75 million, whilst net fees and commission income also increased by 15.1% to GH¢277.98 million, from GH¢241.51 million.

The cost to income ratio [efficiency] improved to 57.4%, compared to 59.1% in 2019.

Total assets recorded a growth of 23.5% from GH¢12.52 billion in 2019 to GH¢15.45 billion in 2020. The growth was funded mainly from a 21.8% increase in deposits from GH¢9.82 billion in 2019 to GH¢11.96

The Covid-19 pandemic however weighed heavily on the performance of stocks listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange, with the financial stocks being significantly affected.

GCB’s share price experienced volatility during the year with a high of GH¢5.10 and a low of GH¢3.40, reflecting the lowest price in the last 4 years.  The share price however improved to GH¢4.05 at the end of 2020.