GTBank commits N389.21 m to charity

By Chioma Obinagwam

As part of its resolve towards giving back to its host communities, Guarantee Trust Bank(GTbank) has said it committed a total of N398.21 million as donations and charitable contributions for the Financial Year ended December 31, 2015.

According to the company’s annual report for the period under review, it noted that the donations is part of its commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR).

A breakdown of the donations showed that Education gulped N225.78 million, which represents 57 per cent of the total donation; whereas N139 million was expended on Community Development, indicating 35 per cent of the sum.

Others include N26.45 million which went to Arts indicating 7 per cent of the donations even as N6.99 million was set aside for Environment.

CSR is a company’s sense of responsibility towards the community and environment (both ecological and social) in which it operates.

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“In order to identify with the aspirations of various sections of the society, the Group donated a total sum of N398,211,628(Dec. 2014: N599,916,416) as donations and charitable contributions during the period. It comprises contributions to Educational Organistions, Art and Cultural organisations, and Professional organisations amongst others,” it said.

“At Guaranty Trust Bank, we believe we can only grow and sustain the value of our business by what we give to our host communities. We also passionately believe that CSR embodies our ardent commitment and social pact with all our stakeholders,” the bank continued.

Extracts of the bank’s financials for the period under review showed that  the bank recorded significant growth in Gross earnings, growing by 8.4 per cent from N278.52 billion in2014 to N301.85 billion in 2015 and a Profit Before Tax(PBT) increasing by 3.7 per cent to N120.69 billion in 2015 from N116.39 billion in 2014.

The Managing Director of the Bank, Segun Agbaje said: “Given the resilience of our earnings, the strength of our franchise and the efficacy of our growth strategies, we are optimistic that 2016 will be an even better year for us and all our stakeholders.”