Energy Bank begins operations in Ghana

Energy Bank Ghana, the country’s 27th, has opened to the public for business with the mindset of playing into key sectors of the country’s fast-growing economy.

Chairman of the Bank Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim disclosed that the Global Fleet Group, mother-company of Energy Bank, is looking to immediately invest another US$50million toward building of a first-class hospital.

“We offer a robust partnership with Ghana Civil Aviation Authority to put Ghana Airways back in the sky in less than six months from today - if government is interested,” Ibrahim said, showing his company’s eagerness to participate strongly in the development of the country’s economy.

Ibrahim disclosed that Energy Bank will partner government in funding projects that relate to Real Estate, Service Industries, Oil and Gas, and Infrastructure Investment, adding “our concern will be to develop indigenous entrepreneurs.

“We’re looking to hit the ground with quality services that will immediately differentiate us as a bank of choice for corporate customers, who are our primary focus,” MD/CEO Sam Ayininuola disclosed to B&FT.

Energy Bank Ghana is the first universal banking endeavour of the Global Fleet Group, which has operations in several industries including Insurance, Airlines, Properties and Oil & Gas across West Africa and is headquartered in Nigeria.

Group Executive Director, Strategy & Perception, Mrs. Yetunde Akinluyi , stresses that Energy Bank seeks to reverse the current trend by establishing and growing a strong Ghanaian bank which then moves on to establish a presence in other African countries, rather than the other way round.

Akinluyi explained that though the name of the bank immediately creates the impression “we’re here because of the country’s emerging oil and gas sector, our choice of name has more to do with our outlook on business where we see a vibrant, vigorous bank working with enthusiasm to meet our customers’ expectations.”

Energy Bank, which has met the Bank of Ghana’s minimum capital requirement of GH¢60million, making it one of the most capitalised in the country, opens up with strong emphasis on the deployment of IT and electronic banking to help reduce costs, “which will enable us meet customer needs without putting in obscene margins,” Ayininuola said.

Ayininuola observed that Ghana’s economy has registered impressive growth rates in recent years, making it a leader on the African continent, which is also expected to experience high growth in coming years, thereby making the country attractive to global investors.

“Capital will move to where conditions are favourable, and Ghana’s political and economic stability offers the security investors crave, therefore the country’s investment space is bound to open up even more - and that is our motivation for entering the market,” he disclosed.

Ayininuola added that loyalty is the underlying philosophy of the bank, and its energy will be channeled into bringing out the humanity of the bank.

“We will endeavour to identify specific areas of much concern to Ghanaians, and then we will tailor our corporate social responsibility to address those needs.

“We will work hard at discovering the market and the people, who are our primary concern, because we acknowledge that though the corporate customers are our main targets, they in turn have relationships with the other end of the market and there is therefore need to have an eye for that sector as well,” he said.

“We intend to grow conservatively, seizing opportunities in various sectors of the economy - including construction, transportation, oil & gas; commodities such as cocoa, rice and sugar; in fast-moving consumer goods; and also in the public sector, targetting such institutions as VRA, ECG and public schools,” Ayininuola disclosed.

The bank, however, intends to have a dominating presence in the country’s nascent oil and gas sector.

“We are open to all options in the sector. If it means taking up projects individually or in syndication with other banks, be they local or foreign, we’re given to all that,” he said.

“We will not rush into rolling-out branches, which is not cost-effective, but we will still register strong visibility across country through the deployment of ATMs and other innovative electronic banking means,” Ayininuole explained.

He disclosed that Energy Bank opens with a main office in Accra on the second floor of GNAT Heights, with plans to open branches subsequently in Tema, Takoradi and Kumasi.

B&FT