HFC Bank to exploit opportunities in West Africa

Accra, April 10, 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.