HFC Bank, one of the few indigenous banks that is growing very fast in the country, has shored up its stated capital and revenue reserves to GH¢32 million, which is above the
Bank of Ghana’s minimum capital requirement of GH¢25 million that takes effect from January 1, 2011.
The financial intermediary raised these monies from strategic institutional investors through a private placement.
The second phase of the private placement, which would offer ordinary shares of 61,599,294 to new institutional investors, is on-going and expected to end by June 2010.
According to the audited 2009 financial performance, the bank recorded a deposits growth of 37.96 percent in 2009 despite a difficult operating environment.
The bank’s deposits inched up from GH¢85.205 million in 2008 to GH¢117.50 million in 2009.
HFC Bank, which launched four new branches and five Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), is currently represented in seven of the 10 regions in Ghana.
Similarly, lending to corporate bodies and Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) increased by 13.10 percent.
Treasury contribution to the bank’s income was GH¢10.411 million.
However, its profit after tax dropped by 3.8 percent compared with that of the 2008 figure, which was GH¢6.01 million. 2009 earnings was GH¢5.849 million.
Addressing shareholders at the bank’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) yesterday, Asare Akuffo, Managing Director of the bank said the trend in profitability remainspositive as 2009 net profits reflected an average of 78.3 percent increase over the past three years.
Following the successful implementation of the bank’s previous plan (2006-2010), it has commenced the implementation of a new plan that should move the bank to the level of a major player within the West African region.
According to him, in pursuit of the agenda, a more effective legal and organizational framework would be adopted by the bank and its subsidiaries to achieve various objectives through organic growth, mergers and acquisitions.
Meanwhile, the board, chaired by Nana Aye Duku, would soon take an informed decision after the Sierra Leone Mortgage and Savings Company invited it to acquire a major stake.
HFC Bank is currently managing the institution under a technical assistance contract.
The other businesses of the bank also did quite well. While the bank’s mortgage portfolio grew by 32.3 percent from GH¢37.903 million, the public sector affordable housing scheme, which is managed by the bank, achieved a gross portfolio of GH¢ 4.44 million, providing 172 new homes.
It declared a dividend of GH¢0.015 per share.
By Charles Nixon Yeboah