- GCB Bank Profit Rises 44% to GH¢1.87 billion as Lending Accelerates
GCB Bank PLC increased group profit by almost 44 per cent in the nine months ended September 2026 as lower funding costs, stronger fee income and a sharp expansion in lending strengthened earnings across its banking franchise.
The results mark an important shift in the composition of the bank’s balance sheet. GCB is moving more resources into customer credit while maintaining substantial holdings of government securities and liquid assets. That strategy supported higher income, but it also reduced some liquidity and capital ratios, placing greater emphasis on disciplined risk management.
Group profit after tax rose to GH¢1.87 billion from GH¢1.30 billion in the corresponding period of 2025, an increase of 43.77 per cent. Profit before tax advanced by 41.99 per cent to GH¢2.87 billion, while total comprehensive income reached GH¢1.89 billion.
Basic earnings per share increased to GH¢9.39 from GH¢6.53, reinforcing the improvement available to shareholders. At the separate bank level, profit after tax reached GH¢1.86 billion, compared with GH¢1.29 billion a year earlier.
The earnings expansion was supported by several income lines rather than one exceptional gain. Group net interest income increased by 13.81 per cent to GH¢3.58 billion, despite interest income rising by only 1.21 per cent to GH¢4.39 billion.
The difference came from a 31.88 per cent reduction in interest expense, which fell to GH¢815.99 million from GH¢1.20 billion. Expenses on current and savings accounts, time deposits and borrowings all declined. The result suggests that GCB benefited from a cheaper funding mix and improved liability pricing even as deposits and borrowings expanded.
Interest earned on loans and advances rose by 40.46 per cent to GH¢2.51 billion, reflecting the bank’s deliberate shift towards customer lending. Income from investment securities, however, fell by 24.57 per cent to GH¢1.72 billion. This change indicates that loans are becoming a more important driver of interest revenue relative to government and other investment instruments.
Non-interest income provided a second growth engine. Group net fee and commission income increased by 86.58 per cent to GH¢1.08 billion from GH¢579.23 million. Processing and facility fees at the bank level more than doubled, while other fees and commissions also rose strongly.
Net trading income climbed by 71.64 per cent to GH¢1.01 billion, supported by both fixed-income and foreign-exchange trading. Fixed-income trading generated GH¢625.91 million, while foreign-exchange activity contributed GH¢380.81 million.
The combined performance lifted group operating income by 32.10 per cent to GH¢5.74 billion. The diversification is important because a bank relying less exclusively on interest income may be better placed to absorb changes in yields and monetary conditions.
Costs still increased, although more slowly than income. Group personnel expenses rose by 22.19 per cent to GH¢1.46 billion, while other operating expenses increased by 18.82 per cent to GH¢980.94 million. Depreciation and amortisation advanced to GH¢166.72 million.
The group’s implied cost-to-income ratio, based on personnel, other operating, depreciation and amortisation expenses, improved to approximately 45.42 per cent from 49.48 per cent. That points to positive operating leverage: income grew faster than the costs required to generate it.
Administrative expenses remained a major source of growth within the cost base, while performance awards increased substantially. Technology and communication expenditure declined, however, suggesting that the bank extracted more output from its existing digital and operating infrastructure during the period.
The most consequential development occurred on the balance sheet. Group loans and advances to customers rose by 83.24 per cent to GH¢25.23 billion from GH¢13.77 billion. Gross loans reached GH¢26.33 billion, with term loans accounting for almost GH¢24.94 billion.
This expansion represents a significant reallocation of capital towards households and businesses. It can support economic activity and deepen customer relationships, but it also creates future credit risk that may only become visible after borrowers pass through a full repayment cycle.
The reported asset-quality indicators improved substantially. GCB’s non-performing loan ratio declined to 4.8 per cent from 10.8 per cent. The reduction suggests that loan growth, recoveries, write-offs or improved borrower performance materially changed the portfolio’s risk profile.
However, the non-performing loan ratio excluding the loss category increased to 2.2 per cent from 1.0 per cent. That movement deserves attention because it may indicate rising stress within substandard or doubtful exposures even as the overall headline ratio falls.
Net impairment losses increased by 50.96 per cent to GH¢260.14 million, almost entirely related to loans and advances. The increase was much slower than gross loan growth, but the rapid expansion of credit means provisioning trends will remain central to assessing earnings quality.
Customer deposits rose by 34.27 per cent to GH¢50.40 billion. Current accounts contributed GH¢28.62 billion, savings accounts GH¢18.42 billion and time deposits GH¢3.36 billion. The dominance of current and savings balances helps explain the decline in interest expense because these deposits generally cost less than term funding.
The loan-to-deposit ratio consequently increased to approximately 50.05 per cent from 36.68 per cent. GCB is deploying a larger share of its deposit base into lending, improving potential returns but reducing the excess liquidity available for defensive purposes.
Group total assets grew by 35.44 per cent to GH¢68.03 billion. Cash and cash equivalents increased by 41.68 per cent to GH¢15.93 billion, non-pledged trading assets rose sharply, and investment securities remained broadly stable at GH¢19.90 billion.
The bank therefore retains a sizeable liquidity cushion despite the lending expansion. Its regulatory liquid ratio, however, declined to 64.3 per cent from 73.4 per cent. GCB recorded no statutory liquidity breach, but the direction of travel confirms that more of the balance sheet is being committed to longer-term or less immediately liquid assets.
Borrowings increased by 43.78 per cent to GH¢7.38 billion. Together with deposit growth, this helped finance the enlarged loan book. Net cash generated from group operating activities rose to GH¢5.69 billion from GH¢3.43 billion, while cash and cash equivalents ended the period at GH¢15.93 billion.
Shareholders’ equity increased by 38.74 per cent to GH¢7.86 billion, supported by retained earnings of GH¢6.11 billion. The group paid GH¢265 million in dividends during the period, demonstrating that earnings growth was sufficient to support a distribution while expanding capital internally.
Capital ratios present a more nuanced picture. The capital adequacy ratio declined to 14.6 per cent from 16.2 per cent, reflecting the effect of rapid risk-weighted asset growth. The common equity tier-one ratio was broadly stable at 12.6 per cent, while the leverage ratio improved to 6.6 per cent from 5.7 per cent.
These figures do not point to an immediate capital weakness, but they show why future loan growth must be balanced against retained earnings and regulatory buffers. The bank also disclosed GH¢492,000 in other regulatory sanctions, compared with none in the previous period, although it did not explain the underlying breaches in the summary statements.
GCB’s nine-month performance is therefore more than a simple profit increase. The bank has lowered funding costs, expanded transactional income, improved operating efficiency and redirected a larger portion of its resources into customer lending.
Its next test is whether the enlarged loan portfolio can continue producing interest income without reversing the improvement in asset quality. Investors should watch early-stage delinquencies, impairment charges, liquidity, capital adequacy and the sustainability of fee income.
For now, GCB’s results suggest a franchise using its deposit strength more productively. The opportunity is higher recurring earnings and deeper support for the economy. The risk is that rapid credit growth can reveal its true cost only later. Managing that tension will determine whether the bank’s 2026 earnings surge becomes a durable expansion or merely the strongest point in the credit cycle.
