Zenith Bank (Sierra Leone) Limited on Tuesday May 30, 2023 held its 15th Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Aberdeen, Freetown.

The AGM brought together Directors of the bank, Senior Management Staff, representatives of Bank of Sierra Leone (BSL) and the Auditing Firm, Baker Tilly Sierra Leone for the adoption of the bank’s audited accounts for the financial year ended December 31,2022 amongst other businesses of the meeting.

In her statement, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the bank, Madam Boi- Jenneh Jalloh said the banking sector remains relatively stable, well capitalized, liquid and profitable as most of the key financial indicators remained above their minimum thresholds set by the Bank of Sierra Leone. “For instance, Zenith Banks’ paid up capital as at December 31 , 2022 was NLe100.17 million against the required NLe85 million.”

She underscored that as part of the strategies to develop the financial sector, the Bank of Sierra Leone successfully implemented the redenomination of the Leones in the third quarter of 2022. “This entailed the removal of three zeros (or dividing by 1000) for all the existing currencies”.

“The year 2022 was challenging, but overall the performance of the bank improved significantly despite the head winds. Profit Before Tax (PBT) increased by 40.18 percent from NLe 65.65 million in 2021 to NLe92.04 million in 2022.  Profit after Tax similarly grew by 40 percent from NLe49.21 million in 2021 to NLe68.85 in 2022. Gross Earning went up by 47 percent from NLe127.75 million in 2021 to NLe187.95 million in 2022”.

She ended by saying that even in a very challenging operating environment, Zenith Bank has continued to thrive and recorded an outstanding performance and growth in 2022.

In his statement, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank (Sierra Leone) Limited, Mr. Chijioke W. Ejilemele noted that “The Bank remained strong and well capitalized, with stronger growth in assets, investments and deposits despite the economic challenges in 2022. Total assets grew by 44 percent to NLe1, 273.20 million in December 2022 from NLe886.28 million in December 2021. This was mainly due to a 15 percent growth in investment securities to NLe643.28 million from the 2021 figure of NLe559.32 million.”

He said the bank’s loans and advances to customers also grew from NLe62.90 million in 2021 to NLe102.91 million in 2022. This represents 64 percent growth and a demonstration of the banks’ commitment to supporting businesses in Sierra Leone and improvement in business development and credit skills in the bank. He said the impairment charge increased by NLe1.32 million to NLe 2.60 million or 97 percent due to the increased loan portfolio.

He disclosed that “The Customer’s Deposit went up by 44.70 percent in 2022 with total deposit of NLe971.78 million as compared to NLe671.74 million in 2021, a positive difference of NLe300 million.  This was the result of the selling skills and excellent services provided by the staff and management of the bank to customers. The CEO also indicated that savings and domiciliary deposits increased by 12 percent and 77 percent respectively.”

On the outlook for 2023, Mr. Ejilemele pointed out that the bank will significantly grow its business in 2023, beat the 2022 performance and come out a more developed bank. Meeting the needs of our diverse customers as the bank marks its 15th anniversary later in the year remains a challenge in today’s business, but the bank promises in 2023 to significantly improve customers’ offerings and services, relationship management and satisfaction.

The Managing Partner of Baker Tilly Sierra Leone, Mr. Derrick Kawallay said “We have audited the financial statement of Zenith Bank Sierra Leone Limited, set out on pages 8 to 92 which comprise the statement of financial position as at December 31 2022 and the statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity and statement of cash flows for the year ended, and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies”.

“In our opinion, the accompanying financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial positions of the Bank as at December 31, 2022, and of its financial performance and its cash flows for the year then ended December 31,2022 in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and the requirements of the Companies Act of Sierra Leone, the Banking Act of Sierra Leone and Banking Regulations of Sierra Leone.”

Other officials made salient contributions during the AGM, as they went ahead to adopt key resolutions, key among which are the Audited Report Financial Statement of the bank for the financial year 2022 and also approval of Auditors for the coming financial year.