The bank’s vastly improved performance was driven by an aggressive campaign to boost its deposit base, both inside and outside of Sudan, which led to increased financing and investing. ONB now accounts for 31% of total deposits in Sudan, which is more than any of its competitors.
Another major contributor to the bank’s performance was its success at slashing its cost-to-income ratio from a prohibitive 101% in 2006 to a more realistic 19.1% last year. The bank’s return on equity also showed a marked improvement on the year before. It returned 21% on its equity, compared to a figure of -7.7% in 2006. The bank is also committed to improving technology. It increased the number of people in its IT team from 11 to 33 last year and was the first bank in Sudan to introduce ATMs.
ONB has worked hard to come up to international standards and last year it established a risk management department in accordance with Basel II requirements. A worthy winner of the Bank of the Year Award, ONB has managed to turn itself around in the past 12 months through sound management and stringent cost cutting.
