GCB Bank Plc published its 1Q2026 results on 27 April 2026, extending the strong earnings momentum seen in FY2025, but with a clear shift in the composition of growth. Total operating income rose by 44.2% y/y to GHS 1.8bn, broadly tracking the FY2025 trend of strong top-line expansion, although the drivers are now more aggressively tilting toward non-funded income. Net interest income increased by 20.5% y/y to GHS 1.13bn, beating our forecast by 11.4% on account of better-than-expected topline performance. In contrast, non-interest revenue accelerated sharply, with fees and commissions and trading income both surging by 115.6% y/y to GHS 320.4mn and GHS 336.8mn, respectively, reinforcing the bank’s ongoing revenue diversification strategy and confirming that non-funded income is increasingly becoming the core earnings engine. Cost dynamics remain broadly contained, although underlying pressures persist. Operating expenses grew by 25.4% y/y to GHS 813.7mn, albeit slower than revenue growth, resulting in a further improvement in the cost-to-income ratio to 45.1%, from 47.2% in FY2025. This continues the efficiency gains recorded last year. On the risk front, impairment charges increased by 25.5% y/y to GHS 91.7mn, signaling that underlying credit risk has not fully abated. However, cost of risk improved further to negative 0.5%, suggesting that recoveries and writebacks continue to dominate provisioning dynamics. Asset quality improved, with the NPL ratio declining sharply to 4.9%, well below the Bank of Ghana’s 10.0% regulatory threshold and well ahead of the regulatory compliance deadline of end-2026. Profitability remained robust, with profit before tax rising by 69.8% y/y to GHS 898.9mn and profit after tax increasing by 72.4% y/y to GHS 580.5mn, supported primarily by strong revenue growth and continued cost discipline. The earnings outturn outpaced our forecast by 8.6%, owing to strong revenue generation and cost containment. Balance sheet dynamics point to a more assertive asset growth strategy. The loan book expanded significantly by 92.6% y/y, indicating a more aggressive deployment of liquidity. Investment securities also increased by 36.1% y/y, while total assets grew by 26.5% y/y, reflecting continued balance sheet expansion. Shareholders’ funds rose by 45.3% y/y, supporting capital buffers, although the capital adequacy ratio edged-down slightly by 0.2 percentage points to 17.8%, still comfortably above the 13.0% regulatory requirement. We attribute the slight decline in the capital adequacy ratio to the expansion in risk assets as opposed to erosion in eligible capital, which rather witnessed an improvement from the earnings growth. Overall, we view 1Q2026 as a continuation of GCB’s earnings expansion, but with a clear shift in drivers. While funded income remains solid, non-funded income has emerged as a credible and increasingly dominant growth engine. In our view, sustainability is the key issue. As rates moderate and credit costs normalise, earnings momentum will depend on the durability of non-interest income, the quality of loan growth, and the bank’s ability to contain structurally rising costs
GCB BANK PLC 1Q2026 Results: Beyond the Spread, Fees Up, Doubts Down
