ADB Boss projects profitable year

The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) Limited is on course to record an impressive performance this year, continuing the bank’s significant growth in deposit, over the past three years.

According to ADB, from some GHC2.1 billion in December 16, it has already recorded GHC 3.0 billion representing 42 percent growth as of September 2019.

The Bank attributes this growth to a combination of deposit mobilization strategies targeted at both Parastatal, Corporate, SME and Retail markets.

In a presentation titled “ADB to the next level”, from back to back operating losses recorded in 2015 and 2016 respectively, the Managing Director (MD) ADB, Dr. John Mensah, said it has since 2017, set itself on a trajectory of profitability.

ADB recorded some GHS47.3 million in 2017 and GHS34.1million in 2018 adding “The Bank is well on course to achieve profitability in 2019 as well”.

As its name suggests, ADB between 2015 and 2016 established an Agric Finance Department located within the Head Office in Accra. The following year that is 2017, the department was restructured into an Agribusiness Division headed by General Manager (GM) who is part of the Executive Committee.

The Division has since been expanded into two main departments, namely Agric services and Agric value chain. So far,some 36 Agric desks, have been set up across branches and more are in the offing the Bank assured.

Units have also been set up under the agribusiness for specific government initiatives such as the government’s One District One Factory (1D1F) and GREL projects.

The Bank is expecting to grow its Agric loan portfolio by 50 percent of the total loans by 2022.

Touching on the future of the Bank, the MD said the future will be guided by a five-year strategic plan namely financial growth, increase market share, human capital development, prudent information, and risk management and market development.

On Financial growth, Dr Mensah said: “We want to drive a strong and robust balance sheet with good quality loans with an emphasis on Agribusiness and Agric Value chain activities”.

He continued that his outfit will seek to increase its market share through customer care and service quality innovative products and services that will make them tall among their competitors and as well continue to improve on job satisfaction, increase motivation and professionalism among the staff to achieve the target set for human capital development.

On prudent information and risk management, Dr. Mensah said “To preserve the continuous institution of structures and application to enhance statutory compliance, information flow and framework to withstand business shocks through prudent risk management, crisis management and reduction in information asymmetry.

ADB will in the coming years be attempting to go into some of the untapped markets through what it calls “Selective market entries, setting up non-banking financial institutions and CSR”, to develop its market.

Shareholders' equity has progressively increased over the period according to the bank adding beyond the initial public offer in 2016, which brought in additional equity of GHS200million, the Bank through a rights issue, raised GHS277million.

With the fresh injection from GAT, the Bank said it is poised to expand its activities even further.

The Agricultural Development Bank was first established as the Rural Credit Department of the Bank of Ghana in 1964 to study the problems of agricultural credit and prepare the necessary legislation, plans, and procedures for the establishment of an Agricultural Credit Bank.

In 1965, Parliament passed an act (ACT 286) to incorporate the Agricultural Credit and Co-operative Bank to promote and modernize the agricultural sector. The Bank started operations in the same year taking the assets and liabilities of the Rural Credit Department of the Bank of Ghana.