ECOBANK's Share Price Grows By 111%

Lionel Van Lare Dosoo, the Board Chairman of Ecobank has disclosed that the bank�s share price grew by 111% over the last 12 months from Ghc 3.75 to Ghc 7.92. In a statement during the bank�s annual General Meeting in Accra, on Wednesday, Mr. Van Lare Dosoo attributed the success to the prudent management of interest expense which remained flat in 2013 and further promised to continue delivering excellent yields to shareholders by improving the strength of its balance sheet. �Considering the present level of financial sector development and the competitive pressures existing and emerging in Ghana�s financial sector, your bank has consistently focused on building up competencies to meet emerging challenges. The bank will strive towards maintaining mechanisms that will deliver excellent returns to shareholders in terms of share price and dividend,� he revealed. In response to concerns by shareholders with regards to jump in Non-Performing Loan ratio to 5.9%, Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, Samuel Ashitey Adjei, ascribed it to the increment in ratio following the bank�s acquisition of The Trust Bank (TTB). He however, stated that �we did not want to come here and present our profitability report knowing very well that are some assets we are not sure of. So we made the provisions but it doesn�t mean we have lost them. So we will pursue them and make sure we collect these monies.