Daasebre Akuamoah Agyepong II, the Board Chairman of the Agricultural Development Bank plc (ADB), has stated that the Bank will remain committed to the agricultural sector .
According to the ADB Board Chairman, the Bank was established to support the agricultural sector and the board will continue to ensure the core mandate remains a priority.
Presenting his 2021 report at the 435th Annual General Meeting in Accra, Daasebre Agyepong said the Bank posted an improved performance of profit after tax of GH¢81.6 million. This, he indicated, represents an increase of 24.8% growth of the GH¢65.4 million profit recorded the previous year.
The Board Chairman attributed the performance of the Bank to interest income as a result of the growth in loans and advances, interest income grew from GH¢415.4 million in 2020 to GH¢480.3 million in 2021 and operating income soared from GH¢555.9 million in 2020 to GH¢639.9 million in 2021.
Daasebre Agyapong II, who is the Kwawuhene and the President of the Kwahu Traditional Council, stated that the bank’s performance last year resulted in Return on Equity and Return on Assets of 12.09% and 1.81 against 7.69% and 1.14% respectively.
Growth In Assets
The Chairman moreover, noted that the assets of the bank grew to GH¢6.45 million in 2021 from GH¢5.72 million in 2020, and deposits grew 15 per cent from GH¢4.2 billion in 2020 to GH¢4.9 billion.
“The size of our balance sheet grew over the year from GH¢5.7 billion to GH¢6.5 billion in 2021 representing 12.% growth.”
Daasebre Agyapong II
Daasebre Agyapong II, stated that Non-Performing Loan portfolio of the bank witnessed a reduction from 34% in 2020 to 31% in 2021. “Our target is to bring the NPL ratio within industry bracket of 14% by 2023,” he said.
The Board Chairman noted that the capital adequacy ratio was 14.49% and above the regulatory minimum of 11.5%.
“The reconstituted board continued with the implementation of the three year Strategic Plan of the bank adopted for the period 2020 to 2023 and the associated annual budgets.”
Daasebre Agyapong II
The Chairman indicated that the new Board would review the strategy at the end of its implementation period and adopt a new strategy with agriculture being a priority. “We remain confident of the prospects of the bank and the fact that we are on the right track towards full recovery,” the Board Chairman assured.
Dr John Kofi Mensah, the Managing Director of ADB, on his part, intimated that the bank would continue to put in place measures and strategies to reduce NPLs.
Dr. Mensah pledged that ADB would continue to focus on agriculture in spite that the sector was difficult and risky; indicating that in the poultry industry if a disease sets in, one was likely to lose all the birds. He stated that the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine conflict have dealt a big blow to agriculture.
The Managing Director asserted that ADB would continue to support the agriculture sector to thrive because the COVID-19 pandemic has had negative effect on the sector.
“Every economy depends on the agriculture sector. Had it not been the good efforts of the agriculture sector, coronavirus would have damaged the economy more than we saw.”
Dr John Kofi Mensah
Dr. Kofi Mensah called on all stakeholders in the country to support agriculture, stressing that “Agric is an area many institutions must be sacrificed to be there.”
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