*Shareholders approve N45.62bn dividend
Outgoing Chairman of Guarantee trust Bank Plc, Mr. Oluwole Oduyemi, said that the bank would witness the emergence of a virile small and medium scale banking business in 2013.

Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the bank in Lagos, he said, “This will support entrepreneurship in various sectors which will drive the expected growth in the local economy. We will also seek to convert more of the unbanked population in Nigeria through increasing accessible mobile money services.”

He however said that the recent revision of Asset Management Company of Nigeria, AMCON Debt Redemption Sinking Fund from 0.3 per cent to 5 per cent of total asset effective January, 2013, is expected to impact on the cost to income ratio of banks.

Commending the Board of Directors of the Bank for this feat, the shareholders unanimously approved the payment of N45.62 billion as total dividend for the Bank’s financial year ended 2012.

This represents 43.3 per cent of the profit figure of N103 billion declared by the bank at the end of December, 2012.

This translated into a dividend of N1.30 per 50 kobo share held and brought total shareholder receipts for the year to N1.55 per share, when added to the interim dividend payout of N0.25 per share the Bank made last year.

Key highlights of the AGM which took place in Lagos were the announcement of the retirement of the incumbent Chairman of the Bank, Mr. Oluwole Oduyemi in compliance with the bank’s code of corporate governance which stipulates a retirement age of 70 years for Non-Executive Directors of the Bank and the presentation of Mr. Egbert Imomoh as the new Chairman of the Bank.

The shareholders applauded the strong corporate governance of the Bank and expressed optimism over the ability of the management team to position GTBank as the ‘preferred bank’ within the country  and continue to generate positive returns for shareholders in the future.

The Group’s financials for the 2012 financial year showed Gross Earnings of N221.9 billion and a profit before tax of N103 billion, the highest in the industry. In addition, the Bank’s total assets and contingents increased by 6 per cent to N2.26 trillion as against N2.14 trillion recorded in 2011, and it closed the year with an on-balance sheet size of N1.73 trillion. Profit after tax for the period was N87.3 billion compared to N51.7 billion in 2011 representing a 69 per cent improvement.

Addressing reporters after the meeting, Mr. Segun Agbaje, Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc said “we have declared the best results in the industry in the last few years and provided shareholders the best return on equity for any financial institution in Africa”. We intend to continuously reward our shareholders for the confidence they have in us and remain committed to teamwork, integrity and customer satisfaction as a bank. “

He further stated that the Bank intends to consolidate its position in 2013 by pioneering service innovations, developing alternate banking channels, promoting excellence and creating role models for society.