Latest unaudited 2015 financial results of Ghana’s universal banks indicate a very low performance,on the back of aneconomic downturn in 2015.

Though majority of the banks are yet to release their results those sighted by Business Finder indicated that 2015 was a difficult financial year.

This is however not surprising since the third quarter 2015 results had given indication that the performance of the banks will be below expectation.

Zenith Bank saw its profit drop by 39.5 percent in 2015 to GH¢83 million. It posted an interest income of GH¢447.8 million in 2015 compared with GH¢393.2 million the previous year. However, its interest expense for last year was GH¢171.6 million as against GH¢131.2 million in 2014.

The bank also made a provision of GH¢54 .5 million for bad loans in 2015 as against GH¢11.9 million in 2014.

Though it made a profit in 2015, Societe General’s profit dropped from GH¢49.8 million in 2014 to GH¢44.06 million in 2015.

Its fees and commission however went up from GH¢50 million in 2014 to GH¢64.5 million at the end of December 2015.

The bank was however able to manage its credit exposure, making a credit loss of GH¢37 million last year compared with GH¢38 million in 2014. Its total customer deposits was GH¢1.3 billion in 2015 compared with GH¢1.1 billion the previous year.

GCB Bank and Standard Chartered Bank also recorded dips in their bottom-lines at the end of September 2015 and December 2015. While GCB witnessed a decline in profit from GH¢ 202.7 million at the end of September 2014 to GH¢ 162.8 million in September 30, 2015, Standard Chartered Bank which announced a cut in loans and advances earlier saw its profit drop from GH¢208.2 million in December 2014 to GH¢66.1 million during the first nine months of last year.

Stanchart made a provision of GH¢212 million for bad debts in 2015.

According to its unaudited 2015 financial statement, HFC Bank made a loss of GH¢35 million compared with a profit of GH¢68 million in 2014.

Its interest income however rose from GH¢183 million in 2014 to GH¢241 million in 2015 but interest expense alone was GH¢113 million last year compared with GH¢64 million in 2014.

Deposits from customers was however higher at GH¢882.8 million in 2015 compared with GH¢660.9 million the previous year.

The bank which has Republic Bank as its majority shareholder made an impairment loss of GH¢585 million in 2015 compared with GH¢14.2 million in 2014.

Ecobank Ghana and Cal Bank were the only banks that recordedgrowth in their bottom-lines at the end of September 2015.

While CAL Bank recorded a marginal 10.63 percentage growth in profit for the third quarter of 2015, approximately GH¢114.25 million, Ecobank Ghana saw its profit go up by an appreciable 24.82 percent to GH¢287.6 million for the first nine months of 2015. However, CAL Bank managed to increase its profit during the last quarter of 2015 by 16 percent to GH¢166 million.

The indigenous bank made GH¢466 million in interest income in 2015 compared with GH¢355 million the previous year. Interest expense for 2015 was however GH¢218 million as against GH¢170 million in 2014.

According to the Bank of Ghana, total assets of the banking industry reduced by 1.74 percent to GH¢57.2 billion at the end of the third quarter of last year, reflecting the challenges in the Ghanaian economy.