Just three months into the new dispensation for Ghana’s universal banking industry, First Atlantic Bank has shown the potential created by the restructuring done by the Bank of Ghana over the past one-and-a-half years.

The bank says it is aiming to be among the top five in Ghana’s competitive commercial banking arena although industry watchers believe this could only be achieved over the long-term.

However, the bank’s 2019 first quarter financial statement points to phenomenal growth.

Following its merger with Energy Commercial Bank at the turn of the year, First Atlantic Bank now has GHS409 million in core stated capital, far more than the GHS400 million capital requirement of the Bank of Ghana.

This supports total assets, as of the end of the first quarter of 2019, of GHS2.1 billion, 31% more than the balance sheet size as of the end of 2018.

This has been funded in part by a 19% increase in deposits over the 12-month period to end of March 2019, to GHS1.6 billion, which reflects the confidence its customers have in its financial solidity as well as the sheer customer focus of all its activities.

By the end of the first quarter of 2019, First Atlantic Bank had outstanding loans and advances with its customers to the tune of GHS546 million – up 58% on the size of the loan book one year earlier.

Bigger business volumes are translating into bigger profitability, and crucially, First Atlantic Bank is throwing its rewards back into its activities, especially the expansion and strengthening of its product and service distribution channels. The bank’s profit-before-tax for the first quarter of 2019 was GHS10.2 million, up 76% on the pre-tax profit for the corresponding period of 2018. This was achieved on operating income of GHS58.9 million up from GHS42.9 million generated during the first quarter of last year.

Importantly, net interest income grew by 56% to GHS33 million, “the reward for lower cost of funding, which in turn resulted from prudent financial management and rising confidence by an increasingly discerning banking public”.

The public’s appreciation of the sheer quality of First Atlantic Bank products and service delivery is highlighted by the 20% increase in the bank’s income from commissions and fees which rose to GHS26 million for the first quarter of 2019, up from GHS21.7 million over the corresponding period of 2018.

The banks said the “key to its superior service quality lies with its excellent distribution channels, the result of a deep understanding of the customer and the economic operating environment, backed by heavy investment in delivery channels”.

First Atlantic Bank now has 41 branches spread across six regions nationwide. “The bank has heavily enhanced its digital banking platform and it now offers seamless, and completely secure internet banking including mobile foreign currency transactions”.

The bank currently runs 65 ATMs and is at the forefront of facilitating e-commerce, too, having deployed 260 point of sales devices so far.

“All this points to a bank that has equipped itself to thrive in banking industry. Indeed, First Atlantic Bank is moving faster towards its ambition of ranking among the top five banks in Ghana”, the bank said.

Source: Ghana/ClassFMmonline.com/91.3FM