The La Community Bank has posted GH¢1.29 million profit for the 2023 financial year, Seth Nii Sodjah Quao, Chairperson of the bank announced on Thursday.

He said this was an improved performance on the previous year, when the bank recorded a profit of GH¢1.2 million.

The chairperson made this disclosure at the 36th Annual General Meeting (GM) of the bank in Accra.

Mr. Sodjah Quao noted that despite the challenges presented by the unstable macroeconomic environment, including the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP) and high inflation, the bank recorded a fair success in operating income.

“Ladies and gentlemen, despite the hard economic conditions and continuous biting effects of the Domestic Debt Exchange(DDE) programme, the bank’s total operating income increased by 28 per cent from GH¢9.2 million in 2022 to GH¢11.9 million in 2023.

High inflation within the year resulted in general hikes, resulting in a 24 per cent increase in operating expenditure from GH¢7.9 million in 2022 to GH¢9.7 million in 2023," he said.

He said the progress was achieved through various strategies approved by the board and implemented by the management to improve the performance of the bank.

The chairperson also highlighted some of the achievements chalked by the bank under review, noting that the bank had increased loan advancement to small and medium enterprises and recorded an increase in total deposits.

“Ladies and gentlemen, during the year under review, loans and advances to customers increased by 64 per cent from GH¢ 6.7 in 2022 to GH¢11 million in 2023 due to the new strategic directions implemented by the board and management.

Total deposits increased by 18.9 per cent from GH¢7 million in 2022 to GH¢ 7 million in 2023, while total assets and equity increased by 12.3 per cent and 27.23 per cent, respectively,“ he said.

The DDEP, he revealed, led to GH¢2.4 million in losses to the bank, as this would be amortised over a 4-year period, starting in 2023, for GH¢608, 000 each year.

The Chairperson said although the bank made a fair profit in 2023, the board was unable to seek approval for the payment of dividends to shareholders.

The GM was attended by the shareholders of the bank as they deliberated and voted on several financial decisions of the bank, particularly the approval of the 2023 financial statements.

Mr. Alex Kwasi Awuah, Managing Director of ARB APEX Bank, said improving credit outreach in communities by the bank was vital because credit is essential for rural and community banks (RCBs).

The growth in credit extensions, he asserted, demonstrated the bank’s commitment to supporting local businesses and individuals in need of financial assistance.

He, however, urged the bank to deploy stringent loan monitoring and recovery strategies to reduce loan defaults to the barest minimum to help maintain non-performing loan (NPL) ratios at acceptable industry levels.