Bayport reaffirms position to lead Ghana’s financial inclusion and shared growth agenda

Bayport Savings and Loans Plc., a publicly-listed company, granted loans to some 50,000 government sector workers last year in a rather torrid business environment, reaffirming its commitment to drive financial inclusion in the country, its chief executive officer, Mr. Akwasi Aboagye, has said.

With the majority of its clients coming from the public sector, the company admitted that it was concerned about the migration of trained nurses who were leaving the country in search of greener pastures, but has readjusted its operations to continue serving its target market whilst controlling its exposures.

“In 2023, we served almost 50,000 public servants who had a need for loans, and that’s really fundamentally the driver of our growth; driving financial inclusion by supporting our government sector workers,” managing director of the company, Mr. Akwasi Aboagye, told journalists at the GSE’s Facts Behind the Figures.

Although the mass migration of public workers has affected the loan performance of most lenders, Mr. Aboagye stressed that Bayport was able to mitigate the impact of the brain drain on the business, especially nurses who are a significant portion of their customer base.

“We were not really affected by the brain drain, especially from the nursing sector because we were able to nip it in the bud. We have however changed our underwritings rules, so over the last one year, we haven’t done any disbursement to nurses—where the brain drain was very pervasive,” he added.

According to Mr. Aboagye, these prudent strategies and measures enabled the company to reduce its impairments ratio by 2.5percent at the end of 2023, from 15.5percent in the previous year to 13percent in the year under review.

He also noted that the company has invested in technology and personnel in line with its quest to become a fully digital business that offers surreal experience to its customers and investors.

“The focus is to ensure that we continue to give them [customers] the best of experience, he emphasized.

Mr. Aboagye noted that since 2023, customer deposits have now become the biggest funding pool for the business, amounting to 31percent. This is followed by bonds, banks—20percent, direct foreign investment—25percent and shareholders—13percent.

Bayport grew its 2023 profit by 33percent from GH₵16.4 million to GH₵22 million, with loans and advances also increasing by 22percent. The company’s cost-to-income ratio was also downed by 5percent compared to that of the year before the period under review.