GCB Bank PLC has announced outstanding financial results for 2024, marking a significant milestone as the Bank concludes the final year of its 4-year strategic cycle.

The audited financial results released Tuesday show the Bank achieved a record-high Profit Before Tax (PBT) of GHȼ1.91 billion, a 25.3% year-on-year increase.

This performance of the Bank comes amidst a challenging and uncertain operating environment, which included a major regulatory change that impacted liquidity industry-wide.

The report points to revenue for the year growing by 19%, driven by a 19.02% increase in interest income, a 42.72% surge in non-funded income, and an 8.41% increase in net trading income.

Strategic Focus Drives Balance Sheet Expansion

The Bank’s strategic shift in 2024 towards a strong sales and customer-centric approach shows a significant contribution to deposits and loan book expansion.

As a result, the Bank’s balance sheet grew by 58% year-on-year, reaching GHȼ42.58 billion, representing an 11.58% share of the industry’s total assets.

This outpaced the 33.79% growth in industry-wide assets.

GCB’s loan book grew by 52.83% year-on-year to GHȼ10.2 billion, securing an 11.85% share of the total industry loans.

Total deposits increased by GHȼ12.73 billion to reach GHȼ34.63 billion in 2024, reflecting a 58.1% year-on-year growth, which compares favourably with the industry-wide deposit growth of 28.76%.

The strong financial performance in 2024 has further solidified GCB Bank’s capital position.

Shareholders' equity surged by 44.72% year-on-year to GHȼ4.05 billion, translating into a year-end Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 15.23% without relief, comfortably above the regulatory minimum of 13%.

The Bank’s asset quality continues to improve, with its Non-Performing Loans (NPL) ratio declining by 5.1% year-on-year to 15.1%.

GCB’s Earnings Per Share (EPS) increased to GHȼ4.56, while the Return on Equity (RoE) stood at 35.29%. The Return on Assets (RoA) for the year was 3.48%.

In notes accompanying the report, GCB noted that the 2024 performance continues the resilience the Bank has shown in rebounding strongly from the economic crisis despite the prevailing challenges in the operating environment.

“Investments in the systems, people, and technology have set a strong base for growth as we transition into a new strategy cycle from 2025.”

Commenting on the results, Managing Director of GCB Bank, Mr. Farihan Alhassan, said “2024 has been a truly exceptional year for GCB Bank. These stellar results represent the best performance in our history in nominal terms, marking a significant achievement in our journey.

“However, we recognise areas where we need improvement. This performance notwithstanding, there is still room for improvement in our efficiency metrics.”

Farihan Alhassan assured that with the sizeable investment in systems, talents and people, the bank is on course to enhance efficiency within its network”, adding that “Overall, 2024 was a strong year, and we are determined to build on this momentum as we look to the future and continue to drive growth in the years ahead.”