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Just three months after the launch of the new universal banking exemption in Ghana, First Atlantic Bank has demonstrated the potential created by Bank of Ghana's restructuring over the last fifteen months. First Atlantic Bank aims to become one of the five largest banks in Ghana's highly competitive commercial banking sector, but many industry experts believe that this could only be achieved in the long term.
The first quarter 2019 financial statements issued by Ghanaian banks will now require badysts in the banking sector to rethink their situation. First Atlantic Bank offers a lesson on how to gain the confidence of the banking public in how to conduct themselves so as to become a preferred option for both financial intermediation and for carrying out financial transactions.
This translates into phenomenal growth for the bank.
More importantly, First Atlantic Bank is much more financially sound than ever before, and its financial power is comparable to that of the largest institutions and households in Ghana. Following its merger with Energy Commercial Bank at the beginning of the year, First Atlantic Bank now has a stated capital of 409 million GHc, well above the statutory minimum of 400 million GHc currently in force.
This corresponds to total badets, at the end of the first quarter of 2019, of 2.1 billion GHc, 31% more than the size of the balance sheet at the end of 2018.
This increase was partially funded by a 19% increase in deposits over the 12 months to March 2019, to reach 1.6 billion GHc, reflecting customer confidence in its financial strength as well as for the concentration of its customers. Activities.
This confidence is also restored, including the bank's commitment to providing financial support to its customers. At the end of the first quarter of 2019, First Atlantic Bank had outstanding loans and advances with its clients of 546 million GHc, a 58% increase over the size of the loan portfolio a year earlier.
Larger business volumes translate into increased profitability, and it is crucial to note that First Atlantic Bank is reinvesting its profits in its business, including expanding and strengthening its product and service distribution channels. The bank's pre-tax income for the first quarter of 2019 was 10.2 million GHc, up 76% from the pre-tax profit for the corresponding period of 2018. This is a result operating income of 58.9 million GHc compared to 42.9% million generated in the first quarter of last year.
Importantly, net interest income increased by 56% to 33 million GHc, rewarding a lower cost of financing, which resulted from prudent financial management and the growing confidence of a growing banking audience. enlightened. His badessment of the quality of the products and services provided by First Bank is illustrated by the 20% increase in the bank's fee and fee income, which reached 26 million GHc for the first quarter of year 19, against 21.7 million GHc for the same period. of 2018.
The superior quality of First Atlantic Bank's services is based on its excellent distribution channels, resulting from a deep understanding of the customer and the economic environment, supported by heavy investments in distribution channels.
First Atlantic Bank now has 41 branches in six regions of the country. More importantly, the bank has significantly improved its digital banking platform and now offers transparent and fully secure online banking services, including foreign currency transactions via mobile. The bank currently operates 65 ATMs and is also at the forefront of e-commerce facilitation, having already deployed 260 point-of-sale terminals.
All this indicates a bank that has equipped itself to prosper in the banking sector. Indeed, First Atlantic Bank is moving faster in its ambition to rank among the five largest banks in Ghana.
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