Bayport reports GH¢26.5m profit in H1 2025, surpasses FY 2024 performance

By Kingsley Webora TANKEH

Bayport Savings and Loans Plc.’s first half of 2025 (H1 2025) profit reached GH¢26.5million, exceeding the GH¢22million full-year profit recorded in 2024, and a 75 percent growth from H1 2024. This was driven by growth in deposits, loan portfolio and improved cost management.

The company said it leveraged strategic digital transformation, disciplined cost management and favourable macroeconomic conditions to achieve what its CEO termed a “remarkable turnaround” from the challenges of 2022 to 2024.

Speaking at the Fact Behind the Figures session with the Ghana Stock Exchange in Accra, the CEO of Bayport, Akwasi Aboagye, stated that Bayport has cemented its position as the leading lender to public sector employees, achieving unprecedented market penetration.

“If you meet four customers [in the government payroll space], one of them would have a loan with Bayport,” he added, stressing the company’s focus on teachers, doctors and civil servants has created a stable portfolio while advancing financial inclusion.

Bayport’s deposit base grew by 65 percent from GH¢294million to GH¢472million in H1 2025. Its loan portfolio increased from GH¢940million at year-end 2024 to GH¢1.1billion by mid-2025, with projections to reach GH¢1.25billion by year-end. Cost-to-income ratio also improved from 67 percent to 59.5 peecent, with expectations to fall below 55 peecent by end-2025. Bayport’s return on equity also increased by almost 50 percent from 6.5 percent to 10 percent.

He attributed the company’s performance to this payroll lending dominance and digital transformation. According to him, the company has transitioned from a paper-based manual operation to a fully digitised financial service provider where 99.9 percent of transactions are conducted through digital channels.

“Today, the business is able to do straight-through processing for loan origination. We are looking to bring in AI to better improve our credit scoring mechanisms,” he noted.

According to him, this has enabled significant operational efficiencies, including reducing the average loan turnaround time to just three hours and lower commissions — an improvement that enhances customer experience while reducing processing costs.

The company’s recent enrolment on the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GIFSS) platform has further enhanced convenience, allowing customers to transfer funds directly to their Bayport accounts from any banking platform in Ghana.

Mr. Aboagye noted that in an environment where many financial institutions have struggled with escalating operational costs, Bayport has implemented a culture of conscious spending that has yielded significant improvements. “We don’t spend unless we have to spend. We are running a very, very efficient business. This operational discipline has provided Bayport with a competitive advantage, allowing it to invest in strategic initiatives while maintaining profitability.”

Ghana’s improving economic conditions have created a more favourable environment for Bayport’s success. The decline in Treasury bill rates from highs of 28 percent in last quarter of 2024 to 10.5 percent by mid-2025 has reduced the company’s funding costs and expanded its net interest margins.

He indicated this resulted in a reduction in its lending rates by nearly 6 percent, effective August 1; and the stronger cedi has also reduced the cost of the company’s technology investments, many of which involved imported solutions and services.

However, he complained of a critical operational challenge of delays in payments from the Controller and Accountant-General’s Department, which reached four months overdue in December 2024. He revealed that through structured engagement, this delay has reduced to just one month in June 2025, significantly improving the company’s liquidity position.

Based on its strong first-half performance, Mr. Aboagye projects that 2025 will be a “much, much stronger year” than 2024, with the company expecting to maintain its current growth trajectory through year-end .

According to him, the company plans to further expand its loan book to approximately GH¢1.25billion while growing its deposit base by 150 percent. This growth will be supported by continued expansion into rural areas where teachers and other government workers have traditionally had limited access to formal financial services.

Founded in 2003, Bayport Savings and Loans Plc. has grown from a single-branch operation in Obuasi to become one of Ghana’s largest savings and loans companies, with a client base of approximately 180,153 active borrowers.

The company is a subsidiary of Bayport Management Limited, which operates in multiple emerging markets across Africa and Latin America, including Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Colombia and Mexico.

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