Berhan Bank shareholders had little to smile about during the annual general assembly, learning that their profit earnings for the year hung by a thread. The Bank has netted 508.6 million Br profit for the year. It has shown a 6.4pc increase from last year but is two times lower than its peer Abay Bank which reported 1.55 billion Br the prior week. The Bank's expenses in the year had shot up by 25pc to around 4.5 billion Br, while its paid-up capital remains 1.6 billion short of the central bank's minimum requirement. Rising expenses along with executives' accountability were highlighted during the meeting at Millenium Hall last week. A fortnight ago, a management reshuffle that saw its president Girum Tsegaye's resignation after a 20-month tenure took place citing disagreements with the board. With 156 Br Earnings Per Share (EPS), shareholders demanded an explanation from executives over exorbitant spending that stuck out during the report. A case in point was donations of a little over 32 million Br to large public projects. A shareholder upset over declining dividends expressed serious grievances to the board of directors, learning that a portion of it was used to finance a state project without his approval. "It's our money," he told executives, indicating that consent was essential. Pointing to a panoply of unprecedented causes fueling the woeful performance, Board Chairman Gumachew Kussie apologised for low dividend payments. Berhan's provision for impairment of loans decreased to 207 million Br. At the same time, the 14-year-old Bank's assets have soared by 36pc to 45 billion Br.

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