We’ve gone back to basics, targeting SMEs, corporate sectors to grow rapidly – ​​Republic Bank MD

Republic Bank PLC is optimistic to deepen its operations in the micro, small and medium sectors to support the growth of the local economy43.

According to its Managing Director, Benjamin Dzoboku, it has gone to basics by concentrating on mortgages and targeting SMEs and the corporate sectors.

“In 2023 we posted a huge profit of GH¢145 million, so you will see that because we are able to manage our non-performing loans, our net interest income was very healthy. It is basically the focus as I indicated last year, we have gone back to the basics. We are concentrating on mortgages, now we are the leading mortgage provider in the country. “We are also targeting the SME and corporate sectors as well.”

“We believe that SME sector is the backbone of the economy”, he added.

He disclosed to Joy Business at the bank’s 33rd Annual General Meeting in Accra.

The board, led by David Addo-Ashong presented the financial statements, highlighting the bank’s impressive performance despite the challenging macroeconomic environment.

Strong Financials

At his address, Mr. Addo-Ashong noted that “the bank and its subsidiaries recorded a comprehensive income for the 2023 financial year marking a remarkable achievement for the year.”

The profit after tax figure of GH¢145 million marks a remarkable turnaround from the loss of about GHC 61 million recorded in 2022.

Also, Republic Bank Ghana PLC’s interest income increased by 56% to 975.4 million in 2023.

Again, the bank made significant strides in reducing it non-performing loans. The NPLs declined from 19.8% to 15.9%. Significantly, it was lower than the industry average of 20.6%.

Despite an increase in the Bank of Ghana’s reference rate due to policy rate hikes in 2023, Republic Bank Ghana also managed to grow its loan portfolios by 24% from GH¢1.9 billion in 2022 to GH¢2.4 billion in 2023.

Operational Efficiency

Operating expenses increased by 33.5% to GH¢433.6 million due to inflationary pressures, staff cost, digital transformation drive among others.

Nonetheless, the group’s cost-to-income ratio improved from 58.95% to 57.65% in 2023. This is attributed to the relatively strong growth in its income position.

Addressing Shareholders’ Concerns

One of the major concerns of shareholders was the bank’s inability to pay dividends since 2015.

Responding to this the MD noted that “Since the bank was taken over in 2015, a lot of things have been done. If you look at the foundation I built, I believe that we are on a trajectory to declare dividends as I told my shareholders. That 2025, I believe that we will post a healthy income to be able to declare dividends in 2026.”

He has assured shareholders of fulfilling its full obligation by 2026.

“We are on course of making that happen and it’s a promise I made to my shareholders,” he added.

Combating Online Fraud

On the Bank of Ghana’s recent report on fraud in the banking sector, Mr. Dzoboku was pleased to note that the bank recorded zero cases of cyber fraud in the year under review.

“Those fraud incidents didn’t happen in Republic Bank Ghana because the tone must be set from the top and we don’t compromise our internal control.”

Re-election of New Directors

The 33rd annual general meeting witnessed the re-election of David Ashong as the board chair of the bank with Prof. Vera Ogeh Fiador, Jonathan Prince Cann, and Joseph Assumang being elected as new Directors on the board to replace retiring directors.