Trust Bank Limited, the only majority Gambian-owned and 100% Gambian-managed bank registered a whooping 146% after tax operating profit in 2008.

The bank made D99,800,000 (ninety-nine million, eight hundred thousand dalasis) in profit,  a very positive outcome particularly in comparison to its 2007 post tax profit margin of D40,500,000 (forty million, five hundred thousand). This was revealed during the bank's annual general meeting (AGM) yesterday at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi.

Speaking at the AGM, the chairman of the bank's board of directors, Ken Ofori-Atta said despite the tough competition and global economic outlook, "the bank's performance this year is one to reckon with" as "profitability, reserves and the balance sheet have all grown due to the disciplined approach of correcting certain positions maintained last year" "We also sharpened our focus on our customers, building on our deposit base and on lending to a variety of key sectors in The Gambia," he added.

According to Pa Macoumba Njie, Trust Bank's managing director, the bank's performance, not withstanding the impact of the global financial crisis, shows that it is "making good progress in delivering the promise made last year to our sharesholders to reclaim the position as the most profitable bank in the country". We went to highlight major strides made by the bank in 2008 such as the opening of Trust Bank's Barra branch (bringing the total number of its branches to 13). He also pointed out the bank also registered two firsts by introducing SMS banking and Point Of Sale (POS) services and added that ATMs will be installed in most of the bank's branches by the end of the first quarter of 2009.

During the AGM, members, among other businesses, authorised the transfer of up to D90 million from the bank's statutory reserve account to stated capital over the next one year in order to increase its stated capital to the minimum of D150 million as prescribed by the Central Bank.