Ecobank Group has declared its intention to to reduce the number of it’s Non Performing Loans (NPL), from 9.6 percent in 2018, to 5 percent come 2020.
The Chairman of Ecobank Group, Emmanuel Ikazoboh, stated this while presenting the bank’s 2018 financial report at the 31st Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lome, Togo.
Its resolution vehicle has helped prevent liquidity – Ikazoboh, assured shareholders that the resolution vehicle created in 2017 to manage the legacy loan portfolio has helped stem its capital erosion and improved liquidity.
The bank’s management has been enhanced – The bank has enhanced its management so as to put an end to the losses it faced in the previous years.
“Thankfully, we have made significant progress, especially with the credit risk portfolio within corporate and investment bank. We still have a lot of work to do on the portfolio, particularly within commercial bank, and we continue to focus intensively on it.”
What are Non Performing Loans
A bank loan is considered non-performing when more than 90 days pass without the borrower paying the agreed instalments or interest. Non-performing loans are also called “bad debt”.
A brief summary of the company’s 2018 financial result
Gross Earnings – Gross earnings increased marginally from N763 billion in 2017 to N773 billion in 2018.
Profit before tax – Profit after tax rose from N69.7 billion in 2017 to N101.9 billion in 2018.
Earnings per share – Earnings per share increased from N2. 22 per share in 2017 to N3.30 per share in 2018.
Ecobank’s stand on the results
Ikazoboh, described the bank’s performance for 2018 as solid:
“For your company, 2018 was an inflection point. It marked the ‘Execution ‘ phase of our strategy following the initiatives that we took to strengthen the company’s foundation.
“I therefore characterised the company’s performance in 2018 as solid. We have improved our control environment by strengthening the team and investing in systems and processes.”
Ade Ayeyemi, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), described the bank’s financial results in 2018 as remarkable in many ways, saying it reflects the meaningful and significant progress they made in the execution of “our Roadmap to Leadership strategy”.
“It also demonstrates the commitment, hard work and contribution of Ecobankers towards ensuring our sustainable foundation for growth.”
ETI is currently trading at N10.80 in today’s trading session on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).