GCB Bank’s Profit Rises 43% as Lending More than Doubles

 

GCB Bank PLC reported profit before tax of GH¢2.87 billion for the nine months to September 2026, 42.6% higher than a year earlier, as it lent more and cut its bad loans while falling interest rates squeezed margins.

The bank presented the results at the Facts Behind the Figures forum organised by the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) for investors and analysts. The nine-month profit is already 91% of the bank’s profit for the whole of 2025.

“The easy Treasury era is over, and we saw it coming,” said Farihan Alhassan, Managing Director of GCB Bank. “We chose to lend more to Ghanaian businesses, to earn more from serving customers well, and to spend every cedi with care.”

Lending doubles, bad loans fall

Gross loans rose 47.7% since the start of the year to GH¢26.33 billion, and are up 120.6% since December 2024. Loans now make up 47.4% of the bank’s earning assets, against 40.6% at the end of 2024.

Asset quality improved at the same time. The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio fell to 4.8%, from 10.8% a year earlier and 15.06% at the end of 2024. The bank said the ratio fell across all three of its business lines: retail, wholesale and investment banking, and commercial and business banking.

Total assets grew 29.0% since the start of the year to GH¢67.62 billion. Customer deposits rose 22.9% to GH¢50.78 billion, and low-cost current and savings accounts made up 93.2% of the funding mix.

More income from fees and trading

Non-funded income, which comes from fees, trading and foreign exchange, rose 81.7% to GH¢2.13 billion. It now makes up 37.4% of operating income, up 10.1 percentage points in a year. Total operating income grew 32.4% to GH¢5.70 billion.

Costs grew more slowly, up 21.3%, and the cost-to-income ratio improved to 45.1% from 47.9% at the end of 2024.

Returns to shareholders

Annualised return on equity was 36.3% and return on assets 4.1%. Earnings per share rose 43.3% to GH¢9.38. The bank said its share price has nearly doubled this year.

Outlook

Management is targeting profit before tax of at least GH¢3.7 billion for 2026, subject to developments in interest rates, credit conditions and market activity. On the bank’s figures, that needs about GH¢830 million in the fourth quarter. The nine-month profit averages about GH¢957 million a quarter, so the target would be met even if profit slows in the last three months.