Quality of Our Past Decisions Strategically Positioned us to Thrive—GTBank
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The chief executive of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) Plc, Mr Segun Agbaje, has attributed the strong performance of the lender in the first half of the year to the quality of the past decisions made by the board and management of the company.
He said this while commenting on the audited financial statements of GTBank released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) last week.
In the period, the bank further strengthened its position as one of the best managed financial institutions in Africa as it closed the half-year ended June 2020 with total assets of N4.511 trillion and shareholders’ funds of N720.9 billion.
The loan book grew by 8.1 per cent from N1.502 trillion recorded as at December 2019 to N1.624 trillion in June 2020 and customer deposits increased by 18.5 per cent to N3.001 trillion from N2.533 trillion in December 2019.
However, the profit before tax reduced by 5.2 per cent to N109.7 billion from N115.8 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2019.
In terms of asset quality, NPL ratio and Cost of Risk closed at 6.8 per cent and 0.4 per cent in June 2020 from 6.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent in December 2019 respectively.
Overall, asset quality remains stable with adequate coverage of 118.1 per cent, while capital remains strong with CAR of 22.9 per cent.
On the backdrop of this result, Return on Equity (ROAE) and Return on Assets (ROAA) stood at 26.8 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively.
The bank proposed an interim dividend of 30 kobo per ordinary share of 50 kobo each for the period ended June 30, 2020.
“These are undoubtedly tough and trying times for people, businesses and economies the world over. Our financial performance in the first half of the year reflects the quality of our past decisions which have broadened our earnings and strategically positioned us to thrive, thus far, through the current global health and economic crises.
“Underpinning this financial performance is our commitment to being there for our customers and the communities we serve, and over the past six months we have lent the full weight of our franchise to safeguarding the lives and livelihoods of our staff and customers by leading from the front in the fight to curtail the COVID-19 outbreak and offering grace periods on loans to our small business customers,” Mr Agbaje said on the results.
He further stated that, “Going forward, our focus is not just to survive this pandemic, but to thrive beyond it. That is why we are going ahead with our plans to reimagine how we create value for all our stakeholders.
“We know that making financial services work for customers goes beyond banking, and in line with our long-term strategy, we will seek to create and drive innovative financial solutions that go beyond banking.”
GTBank has continued to report the best financial ratios for a financial institution in the industry with a Return on Equity (ROE) of 26.8 per cent and cost to income ratio of 43.2 per cent.
Renowned for its forward-thinking approach to financial services and customer engagement, GTBank was recently ranked Africa’s Most Admired Finance Brand in the 10th-anniversary rankings of Brand Africa 100: Africa’s Best Brands, the pre-eminent survey and ranking of the Top 100 admired brands in Africa.
The bank was also awarded the Best Bank in Nigeria by Euromoney Magazine for a record-extending tenth time and the Euromoney Excellence in Leadership Africa Award for its swift reaction in responding to the COVID-19 crisis and for addressing the impact of the pandemic on its customers and communities.
