Accra, Nov. 29, GNA - ECOBANK Trans-national Incorporated (ETI), the parent company of the ECOBANK Group is investing 40 million dollars in the establishment of a Shared Service Centre in Accra as a common platform for its activities in the Africa Region.

The establishment of the Centre, which is the first of its kind in West Africa has already begun and is expected to coordinate and serve as a resource centre for all transactions of its branches in Region. Mr Arnold Ekpe, Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Group, said at the "Facts behind the Figures" programme of the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) in Accra on Wednesday that the project formed part of programmes outlined for 2006 and 2007 that gave a good outlook for the Bank in the coming years.

The Bank, he said, was also developing its retail sector to better serve customers.

The Bank opened its new branch in Sierra Leone on Tuesday and would open another branch in Guinea Bissau by the end of the year to bring the total number to 15.

ECOBANK already exists in Benin; Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Chad, Cape Verde; Cote d'Ivoire; Ghana; Liberia; Mali; Niger; Nigeria, Senegal and Togo.

Mr Ekpe, who was on a visit to three West African stock exchanges including Nigeria and Abidjan, said the visit to the GSE was to enable the group to inform the capital market players about developments in the Bank.

The Bank's 2005 Annual Report distributed during the meeting at the GSE mentioned major developments for the past year to include an increase in shareholders' funds to more than 220 million dollars; the commencement of activities to open four new subsidiaries in West and Central Africa; the decision to list ETI, ECOBANK Nigeria and ECOBANK Ghana and the re-organisation of the group into four regional; two customer and two business sectors.

Highlights of the Financial Statement included a profit before tax of 73.7 million dollars up from 60.3 million dollars for 2004 and a dividend per share of three cents up from 1.88 cents.

Mr Kofi Yamoah, Managing Director of the GSE, congratulated the Bank for the inroads it had chalked so far.

On a question on inadequate data, Mr Yamoah said it was necessary for journalists and brokers to search for information instead of waiting to be fed.

He encouraged brokerage firms to strive to establish research departments so that their work would be made known to the public.