- Calbank Restores Capital Strength as Nine-Month Profit Climbs To GH¢337m
CalBank’s nine-month results present one of the clearest banking recovery stories in Ghana: stronger core income, restored regulatory capital, improving asset quality and a larger balance sheet. Yet they also expose a shareholder paradox profit rose sharply while earnings per share declined.
The bank’s unaudited consolidated financial statements show group profit after tax rising 50.6 per cent to GH¢337.18 million for the nine months ended September 2026, from GH¢223.88 million in the corresponding period of 2025.
Profit before tax increased 41 per cent to GH¢499.53 million, while operating income advanced 77.7 per cent to slightly above GH¢1 billion.
Consolidated revenue increased 86.1 per cent to GH¢1 billion from GH¢538.17 million.
Net interest income rose 66.3 per cent to GH¢517.10 million. Interest income grew more modestly to GH¢667.77 million from GH¢597.51 million, but interest expense almost halved to GH¢150.67 million from GH¢286.52 million.
That decline in funding costs provided the strongest support to net interest income. It suggests that the bank’s liability structure and pricing environment became considerably more favourable, allowing a larger share of interest earned to reach the income statement.
Net fees and commission income increased 67.6 per cent to GH¢230.21 million, while net trading income nearly tripled, rising 183.2 per cent to GH¢254.36 million.
The expansion across all three revenue engines matters. A bank dependent on one source of income remains vulnerable to changes in interest rates or market activity. CalBank’s results show a broader contribution from lending and investments, customer transactions and trading operations.
Other income, however, declined to GH¢1.75 million from GH¢26.65 million.
The quality of the improvement becomes clearer when impairment is examined.
CalBank recorded a net impairment gain of GH¢3.49 million in 2026, compared with GH¢188.06 million a year earlier. The 2025 result therefore received substantial support from the reversal or recovery of earlier credit provisions.
Despite losing almost GH¢185 million of that support, the group still increased pre-tax profit by GH¢145.18 million. This means stronger operating income more than compensated for the disappearance of the exceptional impairment benefit.
That is arguably the most encouraging feature of the results. It indicates that profitability is becoming less dependent on accounting recoveries and more connected to recurring banking activity.
Operating expenses rose 27.3 per cent to GH¢507.37 million. Personnel costs increased to GH¢275.57 million from GH¢200.32 million, while other expenses climbed to GH¢181.49 million from GH¢152.51 million.
Costs grew, but significantly more slowly than operating income. The implied cost-to-income ratio improved to approximately 50.6 per cent from 70.6 per cent, pointing to stronger operational efficiency.
Total group assets increased 34 per cent to GH¢14.60 billion from GH¢10.89 billion.
Cash and cash equivalents rose 44.3 per cent to GH¢3.20 billion, while investment securities increased 33.7 per cent to GH¢6.94 billion. Customer loans expanded 61 per cent to GH¢2.05 billion.
The loan growth suggests that CalBank is gradually rebuilding its role as a financial intermediary after a period in which balance-sheet repair and capital restoration were dominant priorities.
Customer deposits increased 24.5 per cent to GH¢10.63 billion, providing a larger funding base for asset growth. Borrowings declined 20.4 per cent to GH¢1.08 billion, reducing reliance on wholesale obligations.
Operating cash flow also strengthened dramatically. The group generated GH¢1.16 billion from operating activities, compared with a GH¢2.59 million outflow in the comparable period.
However, the structure of the balance sheet remains conservative. Investment securities were about 3.4 times the size of customer loans, while cash and investment securities together represented approximately 69.5 per cent of total assets.
The loan-to-deposit ratio improved to 19.3 per cent from 14.9 per cent but remains relatively low. This provides room to increase lending, although aggressive expansion could weaken the asset-quality recovery if underwriting standards are relaxed.
The most dramatic improvement occurred in shareholders’ equity and regulatory capital.
Group equity rose to GH¢1.92 billion from GH¢496.44 million, an increase of 286.6 per cent. Stated capital expanded to GH¢1.42 billion from GH¢545.85 million, while the statutory reserve increased to GH¢611.29 million.
The capital adequacy ratio recovered to 18.4 per cent from negative 1.6 per cent. The common equity tier-one ratio improved to 16.4 per cent from negative 4.6 per cent, while the leverage ratio moved to 5.8 per cent from negative 2.6 per cent.
These shifts represent a fundamental change in the bank’s capacity to absorb losses and support new business. A year earlier, negative capital indicators highlighted the fragility of the institution. CalBank now reports positive buffers and no defaults or sanctions relating to statutory liquidity.
The liquidity ratio also strengthened to 83.9 per cent from 73.9 per cent.
Asset quality improved alongside capital. The non-performing loan ratio dropped to 8.5 per cent from 26.5 per cent. Although 8.5 per cent still requires attention, the decline suggests significant progress in resolving, recovering or restructuring troubled exposures.
The credit-risk reserve nevertheless increased to GH¢25.86 million from GH¢6.52 million, showing that the expansion of credit still requires protection against expected losses.
The major tension in the results is earnings per share.
Despite the 50.6 per cent increase in consolidated profit, basic and diluted earnings per share fell to GH¢0.1062 from GH¢0.2757—a decline of 61.5 per cent.
The divergence reflects the enlarged capital and share base. CalBank is producing more profit in absolute terms, but that profit is distributed across substantially more equity.
This does not negate the recovery. The additional capital was central to restoring regulatory ratios and providing room for balance-sheet growth. It does mean, however, that shareholders should distinguish institutional recovery from immediate per-share value creation.
Future earnings will have to grow sufficiently to catch up with the expanded capital base. Until then, headline profit growth may overstate the improvement experienced by each share.
Negative retained earnings also remain unresolved. The group’s accumulated deficit narrowed to GH¢492.55 million from GH¢738.14 million, but it continues to constrain the quality and distributability of equity.
CalBank’s results show a bank that has repaired key parts of its financial structure. Revenue is broader, funding costs have fallen, credit quality has improved and capital ratios have moved firmly into positive territory.
The bank says its risk framework covers credit, liquidity, market and operational risks, with board committees and the Asset and Liability Management Committee responsible for oversight. It adds that policies are reviewed to reflect changing market conditions, products and services.
That governance framework will now be tested by growth.
The first phase of recovery involved restoring capital and reducing distressed assets. The harder phase is deploying the rebuilt balance sheet into productive lending without recreating the credit problems that weakened the institution.
CalBank must also convert its enlarged equity into returns strong enough to improve earnings per share and eliminate the retained deficit.
The nine-month figures provide credible evidence that the bank has stabilised and returned to core profitability. But the next measure of success will not be whether total profit continues rising alone. It will be whether that profit produces durable returns for shareholders while financing businesses without compromising the asset-quality and capital gains that made the recovery possible over time and supports stronger future shareholder returns.
