GBTI’s total loan portfolio at the end of 2023 was $77b, an increase of 18 percent from 2022, according to now-former Chief Executive Officer, James Foster in his statement in the bank’s annual report for 2023.
On March 15th this year, the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) reported that it had registered an after-tax profit of $3.1b for 2023. This is 32.5% higher than for 2022.
In his statement in the annual report, Foster said that the Trade, Services and Distribution sector attracts the highest concentration of loans. He said that the bank has made efforts to improve the retail mix of loans with household exposure now at 27 percent of the portfolio compared to 24 percent in the previous year.
Foster said that that the Non-Performing Loans (NPL) ratio was recorded at 6.6 percent at the end of the year and dropped by 32 percent for 2023.
“Our remedial efforts, while good, have been sty-mied by constraints in the judicial system. Net NPL was 3 percent compared to 5 percent in 2022”, he said.
Foster added that constant review of lending practices and policies has resulted in positive returns “as has our proactive approach to defining our risk appetite; though conservative, it has been adjusted based on the economic cycles and development”.
In his report, Chairman of the Bank, Robin Stoby also listed as a notable accomplishment for 2023 that there had been a decrease in the NPL portfolio to a net of 3.36%. He said this had resulted in a “considerable ease” in the bank’s loan portfolio.
Stoby said that the Board of Directors had approved a final dividend of $6.5 per share which should be paid on or around May 24th to shareholders. This will bring the total dividend to $24.5 per share for 2023.
The Bank’s Annual General Meeting is to be held on May 24th.
The Chairman said that the Bank had managed to operate efficiently even with a “notably high em-ployee turnover, brought about by immigration, the attraction of the energy sector, and by further education”.
Looking ahead, Foster said that for 2024, the Bank “will continue our path of enhancing our internal systems and channels to improve the way we interact with our valued clients. As the local economy continues to expand, it is important that as a local institution, we strive for best practices in all we do so our clients can enjoy their banking experience”.
The bank incurred capital expenditure of $438m for 2023 including rehabilitation and construction on the Regent Street branch.
The Independent Audi-tor’s Report drew attention to ongoing litigation with the Guyana Revenue Authority where additional assessments for corporation and property tax have been issued to the amount of $951m. Management is of the opinion that the Bank will be successful on appeal and no provision has been made for the additional tax assessments. The independent auditor said that its opinion is “not qualified in respect of this matter”.
According to its financial statements, interest income rose from $6.5b in 2022 to $7.8b last year.
Net interest income was $7.06b in 2023 compared to $5.85b in 2022.
Operating expenses rose from $4.46b in 2022 to $5.24b last year. Loan provisioning net of recoveries dropped significantly from $681m in 2022 to $220m last year.
Profit after taxation was $3.1b for 2023 compared to $2.3b in 2022.
Basic earnings per share in dollars for 2023 was 78.56 compared to 59.25 in 2022.
