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HFC Bank to exploit opportunities in West Africa
Accra, April 17, Ghanadot/GNA - HFC Bank
Ghana on Thursday said it was building strategic alliances
in Nigeria, Gambia and Sierra Leone in view of its vision to
establish its presence in the West Africa sub-region.
Speaking at the Facts behind the Figures programme of the
Ghana Stock Exchange, Mr Asare Akuffo, Managing Director of
the Bank, said exploring opportunities in the sub-region
would enable the bank to position itself to stay ahead of
competition in the industry.
Mr Akuffo said the Bank would stay focused on its five-year
strategic plan, which is in its third year of
implementation, to enhance growth, expand the bank’s
investments and foster strategic alliances on both domestic
and international markets.
The bank's profit after tax for 2007 jumped by 153.8 per
cent to 3.251 million GH cedis from 1.22 million GH cedis in
2006. Total assets increased by 50 per cent to 162.2 million
GH cedis from 108.1 million GH cedis in 2006.
Mr Akuffo said expansion of branch network resulted in
increased customer deposits by 50.6 per cent to 83.6 million
GH cedis from 55.5 million GH cedis last year.
Operating cost, however, went up by 57 per cent on account
of increased staff numbers.
Mr Akuffo said the growth prospects for 2008 were brighter
because of plans to expand the commercial loan portfolio to
about 180 million in 2008.
Total lending in commercial loans grew by about 47 per cent
from 41.05 million GH cedis in 2006 to 60.14 million GH
cedis in 2007.
The bank will also augment its construction finance
portfolio to address the lack of affordable housing units in
the market.
HFC is collaborating with the government to provide
affordable housing to public sector workers through the
Public Sector Housing Scheme.
Mr Akuffo said the bank would also embark on aggressive
deposit mobilization and micro-finance lending operations.
There are also plans to automate bank processes and fully
integrate into the national switch system of the Ghana
Interbank payments and settlement systems as well as
increase its branch networks across the country.
Mr Akuffo said the additional capital that would be acquired
through the 10 million GH cedis Rights Issue this month
would enable the bank to achieve branch expansion within the
country and explore investment opportunities within the
sub-region.
It will also enable the bank to improve its ICT
infrastructure to better serve the corporate and retail
customers better and stand the bank in a better position to
survive competition in the financial services sector.
Mr Akuffo said the bank would also pursue cost reduction
strategies to enhance profitability.
GNA
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