Superior service won us award – GT Bank

Guaranty Trust (GT) Bank’s focus has been on superior customer service delivery, hard work and effective banking strategies over the years, Joana Bannerman, Senior Manager, told B&FT after receiving a plaque on behalf of the Bank for winning the overall best bank for 2009 at the 9th Ghana Banking Awards ceremony.

GT Bank emerged the overall best bank after winning awards in several categories and accumulating the highest weighted score from both customer survey and corporate client assessments.

The award for the overall best bank takes into consideration scores accumulated in the customer survey across a range of categories including product innovation, customer care, corporate social responsibility and financial performance, during the year under review.

GT Bank, within four years of operating in Ghana, has grown its asset base by more than 1,000% to GH¢ 285.83 million at the end of 2009 with outstanding growth of over 858% in its profit-before-tax. The bank has also kept a high quality of assets, as is evidenced in a ratio of non-performing assets to total loans pegged at 3.57% in 2009 – against an industry average of 13.2%.

The Bank swept a total of eight awards in as many categories out of the total of 15, picking up first place in seven of them. These were: Best Bank in Advisory Services; IT & Electronic Banking; Product Innovation; Retail Banking; Short-term Loan Financing; Best Growing Bank; and the prestigious Bank of the Year for 2009. The other award came as first runner-up in customer care.

Stephen Abban, Group Head of Technology of GT Bank, said: “for four years, we have laid a strong foundation for the benefits we are reaping; we truly deserve it all.”
Other awards were given for the Best Banks in Medium and Long-term Loan Financing, both of which were won by the First Atlantic Merchant Bank – in addition to it being chosen as the best bank in customer care and picking awards in four other categories.

SG-SSB won two awards: Best Bank for Financial Performance, and Competitive Pricing. Standard Chartered Bank was adjudged the most socially responsible bank, while Ecobank and The Trust Bank won top prizes for Best Bank in Trade Finance and Corporate Banking respectively.

The Agricultural Development Bank grabbed awards in two categories, while Zenith, Prudential, Ghana Commercial Bank, United Bank for Africa and UniBank all won an award each.

In all, 17 banks won awards in various categories. Among them were CAL Bank, which won awards for Advisory Services and IT & Electronic Banking; Merchant Bank, which won awards in three categories; ICB, which picked up three awards; and Fidelity, which won two awards.

Mr. Wilson Atta-Krofah, President of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, speaking at the ceremony conveyed to banks the concerns of industry about the wide interest rate spread in the banking industry.

“My members have asked me to ask you why credit remains expensive in spite of the lower policy rate and declining inflation,” he stated.

He also wondered why banks, despite demanding collateral as security for loans, charged an additional cost for assuming risks to make up their total lending rates. He thus called on them to do more to ease credit conditions for industry.

Mr. Afotey Odarteifio, the Executive Secretary of Corporate Initiative Ghana (CIG), organisers of the Ghana Banking Awards, stated that his outfit had become famous for hosting landmark events for the banking industry.

Charting the progress of banks over the years, he praised the industry for continuing to innovate and leverage IT platforms and infrastructure to improve their business.
He cited Short Message Sending (SMS) banking as a particularly successful innovation that has raised the industry’s level of efficiency.

He also indicated that CIG is committed to finding ways of instilling deeper competition among banks in the country through its activities.

“We are also going to provide post-award feedback to the banking community while we continue to improve the awards,” Mr. Atta-Krofah assured.