Ecobank celebrates return to profitability

Shareholders approve new directors

By Nsikan Ikpe

Africa’s most widespread indigenous banking conglomerate, Ecobank is celebrating its return to profitabilty after a time-out in the cold.

This is part of the outcome of its 30th Annual General Meeting (AGM) that has just been held in Lomé, Togo.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, the parent holding structure of the Ecobank Group, maintains operations in 36 countries across the continent.

At the meeting, shareholders welcomed Ecobank’s return to profit for the year ending 31 December 2017 even as they went ahead to approve all the proposed resolutions at the AGM, including the ratification of the co-option of Messrs. Monish Dutt, Brian Kennedy and David O’Sullivan as Directors.

The new directors are nominees of the International Finance Corporation, Nedbank Group and Qatar National Bank respectively, who not long ago took up relatively signifiicant chunks of the bank’s ownership structure.

Equally, the duo of Deloitte and Touche, Nigeria and Grant Thornton, Côte d’Ivoire were re-appointed as Joint Auditors for a one-year term.

In his address at the meeting, Ecobank Group Chairman Emmanuel Ikazoboh said: “Ecobank enjoyed a return to profitability in 2017 as the strengthening of underwriting and risk management processes began to address our legacy credit issues. There were substantial improvements in the financial performance of our Consumer Bank and Corporate and Investment Bank divisions and the Board is confident that the foundations are now in place to enable the sustainable growth that will create shareholder value throughout Ecobank.”

 On his part, Ade Ayeyemi, Group Chief Executive of Ecobank Group, said: “Our digitisation strategy is rapidly yielding results that are putting Ecobank firmly on its path to becoming the digital bank of choice across its pan-African territories. Additionally, having ‘right-sized’ the business and ‘fixed the basics’, Ecobank is leveraging its inherent strengths as middle Africa’s leading financial platform to the benefit of all its stakeholders as a strong and sustainable bank as it promotes economic development and financial integration across the African continent.”

Incorporated in Lomé, Togo in 1988, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated currently has presence in Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Democratic Republic), Côte d’Ivoire and Equatorial Guinea.

Other African countries in which the banking corporation is domiciled are Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Compositely, the Group employs 15,930 people in 40 different countries in over 940 branches and offices. Ecobank is a full-service bank providing wholesale, retail, investment and transaction banking services and products to governments, financial institutions, multinationals, international organizations, medium, small and micro businesses and individuals.  

Ade Ayeyemi, Ecobank CEO