On pilgrimage into the future with GCB
By Gideon Sackitey

Accra, April 25,Ghanadot- One of the major problems facing Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) is the huge crowd of customers that throngs its banking halls struggling to access funds they have invested or deposited at the bank.

A number of these customers actually queue for long periods to cash their cheques and their stories of delays resonate across the country.

Some customers have for this reason offered to join other banks! The question is if this is the right decision, as in no time they may find out that some of the factors for which they left the bank are found in their new bank, in a different form and shape.

But Ghana Commercial Bank says this uncomfortable situation in the bank is about to change, following the introduction of the Ghana Commercial Bank Automated Teller Machine (ATM) Funds Transfer Option.

With the ATM Funds Transfer Option, a customer will be equipped to transfer funds from his account into a third party account with ease.

According to Mr Lawrence Newton Adu-Mante, Managing Director of GCB, when the product becomes operational, most banking halls will be decongested significantly thereby providing the much needed convenience to the customer through real time service delivery.

This would bring significant relief to the customers of the bank and all those who come to the bank to transact business.

Thus those who cannot be in the banking hall for long or those who cannot be in the banking hall at all will have a suitable option of the Money Xpress Transfer Service.

This facility is part of the Bank's product development strategy, which also saw the introduction last year of its Money Xpress Transfer Service, also known as the GCB Xpress Money Transfer.

The GCB Xpress Transfer also eliminates the inconvenience of carrying huge sums of money on oneself whilst travelling and saves people from armed robbers and fraudsters.

The unique feature of this product is that both customers and non-account holders can use this product, a trend that makes banking most convenient in our modern day social set up that allows very little time for maneuver.

GCB management and insiders say they are also about to launch an ICT platform for internet banking with the advantage of providing on-the-spot financial information and access to secondary account information.

"A customer can give instructions on issues of cheque-book requisition, funds transfer and statement of account requisition," Mr Adu-Mante explained.

Asked what the bank was doing about savings account holders to ease their turnaround period in the bank, Mr Adu-Mante said GCB had developed Excel-for-sales product which ensures that savings and withdrawal books and cheque books are dispensed in the quickest time.

He gave the assurance that the bank was in the process of deepening its relationship with Small and Medium Enterprises throughout the country.

Mr Adu-Mante added that in this regard, deposit mobilisation and asset creation had become a major part of the banks' operations substantially increasing SME customers in the year just gone by.

Mr Kwabena Osei-Bonsu GCB's Chairman, is also optimistic about the bank flagging the successful networking of all the 133 branches and 10 agencies of the bank as a strategic move that has brought the bank to the doorstep of all and urged customers to make use of it.

He put the bank up as "strong" with "solid corporate governance policies" and standards required by the regulatory authorities as well as international standards.

"To this end, the bank has participated in discussion in the International Financial Reporting Standards and will from next year adopt the new standards for the 2007 financial statement."

In the words of Mr Osei-Bonsu, GCB's performance in 2006, where profit after tax up was by 102 per cent at 260,147 million cedis, the largest increase in profit after tax by any listed Ghanaian banks, and interest on income increasing by 22 per cent over 2005 figures to 1,024 billion cedis, stand her out as one of the most remarkable corporate entities with such potential as could bring everybody on board.

GCB indeed has a future, a future determined not by talk and spin, but by years of practice that have cultivated thousands of shareholders, clients, customers and even admirers who are ready to walk the full distance trusting that come a date in the future, promises made to them will come to pass. A trust based on sound, prudent management.

With the sophistication taking place in the world, the best way forward is to place the bank in the most modern line of business activity, ICT and all its applications.

When all the products are on stream, they would make GCB the easiest bank to work with, be with and to save with.

Gideon Sackitey, Ghanadot, April 26, 2007