Ecobank Côte d’Ivoire can point to a successful year on all business fronts. The bank turned in a 39% increase in Tier 1 capital in 2006, with asset growth at 40% and net profits up 49% in the year. A tight focus was kept on costs, enabling the group to achieve an improvement in its cost-income ratio from 64.3% to 60%, while the NPL ratio was slashed from 5.4% to 3.3% of the loan book.
Reducing costs and maximising returns are two key elements of the bank’s ongoing strategy. The emphasis has been on reducing funding costs by relying on non-interest bearing deposits and minimising interest bearing deposits. Given the more lucrative returns obtained from retails assets, the focus was placed on this segment of the business.
At the same time, Ecobank worked to improve is risk profile by sharply reducing the level of NPLs on the book. There was a significant boost from commission income and a rise in the net interest margin, with enhanced diversification of revenue streams, as well as a focus on FX activities.
Ecobank has been a leader in opening branch offices for military, police and civil service personnel, and it added eight ATMs to its network.
The bank increased its market share among the country’s 19 banks, in a highly competitive environment, rising from sixth to fourth place. The Treasury division generated more than $5m in income in 2006 and ranks as one of the top three operations in the country’s banking industry.
