THE Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) Ltd. has reported on its excellent performance for the year 2011, in its annual report for last year. In the Chairman Mr. Robin Stoby’s report on the achievements in 2011, he said, “I am pleased to report to you on the excellent performance of your bank for the year ended December 31, 2011”.
He said for that year, profit after tax amounted to $1.38B, an increase of $175 million or 15 percent over 2010, while total assets reached $76.4 billion, an increase of $13.7B or 21.9 percent over 2010, noting that these financial results achieved continue to underscore the resilience and solidity of the bank and the soundness of its strategic focus on developing long-term value-driven relationships with customers.
The Chairman’s report said there is no doubt that 2011 was a tumultuous year for the global economy and pointed to some challenges, and also noted that in Latin America and the Caribbean, IADB reported that the region averaged a 4.6 percent economic growth rate in 2011, down from 6.1 percent in 2010, on the basis of a weaker world economy.
He said much of the region’s economies were seen to still enjoy good domestic momentum and the benefit of sound financial systems, while there were relatively stable capital inflows.
Domestic socio-economic issues will always have a significant impact on local businesses in general and the banking industry in particular, he said, and 2011 was no different in this respect. The issues of crime and security, climate change, garbage disposal, job creation, education and the role of women took on greater focus in 2011 and are expected to remain prominent features of public policy initiatives in 2012.
Following on real growth of 3.9 percent in 2012, half year results announced by Government for 2011 showed the local economy growing by 5.9 percent driven significantly by the performance of the mining sector, notably bauxite and gold. Projections by ECLAC for the year end proffer overall growth of 4.8 percent. The tone of the projections suggested that the economy displayed a satisfactory degree of robustness despite the continuing difficulties in the major export markets of the United States and Europe. The budget deficit was projected at 3.5 percent of GDP in 2011. The exchange rate was relatively stable in the first half of 2011 with a marginal devaluation of 0.25 Guyana dollars to reach $203.50 to the US dollar.
It said monetary policy continues to be geared towards maintaining price and exchange rate stability while promoting private sector credit, and this policy has seen inflation levels of 4.5 percent for 2010 and 4.8 percent for the first half of 2011 and it must be noted that rising import costs for food and fuel have the potential to exacerbate inflationary pressures and stymie monetary policy efforts.
He said the banking sector continues to display good stability and solvency while supporting general economic activity and community building initiatives.
The Bank of Guyana reported that the institutions recorded increase capital, profit and liquidity and that the level of non-performing loans had year over year remained stable at 5.1 percent of total loans at June 2011 and the commercial banks interest rates on savings have trended downwards while the prime lending rate stabilized during the year at an average of 14.54 percent, the report outlined.
“We join with the business community in saluting the revision of the corporation tax structure, one of the measures passed in the 2011 National Budget, along with the revision of the income tax threshold for employees. We believe that these initiatives are significant in boosting confidence in the economy,” the CEO’s report stated.
The additional legislation passed during the year that is aimed at supporting the environment for the operation of a local credit bureau is most welcome, as well as the current efforts toward the identification and revision of redundant laws affecting businesses in the country, the most significant of which for the banking community are the laws relating to processing and transfer of mortgages and bills of sale, the Chairman’s report stated, adding that the banking community looks forward to the success of these initiatives at enhancing the process for the granting of credit and the administration of mortgages and bills of sale.
He said the bank pursued and achieved several goals during the year, foremost among which is the commencement of the process for the implementation of a new core banking system with the overall objective of increasing efficiency and delivering additional financial products to the banking public.
Progress is also being made in our feasibility studies for the establishment of new branch facilities in several areas across the country. Announcements of these locations will be made after the requisite Central Bank approval has been obtained, the report added.
The bank has developed a 5 Year Strategic Plan for 2012-2016 that is aimed at repositioning the bank from being one with a traditional branch system to one that is a diverse, technology driven institution with a customer—centric culture.
“This we believe will take us into the future and solidify our position as the preferred bank of Guyanese. Coming out of the first phase of this plan is a new tagline ‘Your Friend, Your Bank’ which replaces the previously used ‘Our Strength, Guiding You’. ‘Your Friend, Your Bank’ represents the defining elements of the experience of every customer that walks through the doors of the bank and the entire culture and life of the bank will be aligned to this ideal,” the Chairman stated in the annual report.
The Board of Directors remains accountable for the performance and affairs of the bank, and he said during the year, the bank engaged experts from the International Finance Corporation to conduct a full risk management diagnostic of their structure and operations to ensure that they are employing the best practices for the mitigation of risks of the bank.
The results were carefully studied by the Board and a number of changes are being implemented under the auspices of the Bank’s 2012-2016 Strategic Plan, the CEO said.
“Our achievements and plans are only possible because of the loyalty and support of our customer, our hardworking staff, and you our stakeholders, for which we at the level of the Board are grateful,” Stoby said.
On the basis of the financial results for the year ended December 31, 2011, the Board of Directors is pleased to propose a final dividend of 48 per share to bring total dividend to $11 per share for the year 2011.