ADB: Most Impressive Bank, 2010

ADB Grabs Assets of Stanbic, Merchant & Barclays

Makes Good Profits & Plans To Recruit 200 New Staffs,

Story By: Benjamin Essuman

The Ghanaian banking industry is undergoing defining reforms, as a result of the intense competition, being witnessed. In the process one indigenous bank stood out among its peers, throughout last year, and with sheer tact, is currently a market leader in many respects.

The Informer newspaper after keenly following developments in the banking industry can state that the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), a universal bank largely owned by the state of Ghana, is the most impressive performing bank in the country.

Apart from keeping its base rate, consistently below the lowest mark in the industry, much to the comfort and delight of small and medium scale businesses looking for sources of extra funds for capitalization, ADB helped in great deal to draw-down lending rates in the country.

The Bank, contrary to the wait-and-see attitude of its compatriots embarked on a vigorous campaign to expand its frontiers across the country. The Agric Bank opened 12 new branches across the country and in a sharp departure from what used to be the case, the bank for farmers, made physical presence in agricultural centers, nationwide, for the first time in its history.

From the rich food basket of Navrongo, ADB stretched to Wale-Wale, covered Savulugu and descended to Yendi. From the East it stormed Nkwanta, Kpando took Sogakope, Kpeve and re-opened the locked out Ho office. Closer to the capital, ADB cited a branch at the fastest growing community in Ghana, Ashaiman, then went to the middle-women in Mankesim before taken over the Takoradi Harbour for business.

Farmers who felt neglected and abandoned by the bank that was originally established to take care of their financial needs, are expressing delight and heavy comfort, as a result of the initiative by the management of ADB, to get closer to their farming communities.

The result of ADB’s closeness to their number one clientele is bound to show off in the coming farming seasons.

This year ADB is expected to open 11 new branches in some of the traditionally recognized market/farming centers.

ADB which was nearly sold out, by the previous regime, basically as a result of its non-profit nature has seen a complete turnaround. The bank, according to industry experts is likely to announce in the next few weeks, that it made more profits on its investments, last year, and as such, is will pay good dividends to the government.

From a laughing stock situation, the new management has managed to restructure ADB, such that the farmers’ bank is now attracting both junior and senior management staff from other blue-chip banks in the country.

As of today, 70% of ADB’s Senior Management Officials are made up of smart intellectuals who were occupying same senior managerial positions in other banks, before end of 2009. Banks such as Stanbic Bank, Merchant Bank and Barclays Bank lost some of their well-trained and skillful senior personnel to ADB. In what was initially misunderstood as poaching by the Stephen Kpordzih administration, it has come to light that the restructured conditions of service and the new hope and drive that has been injected into the bank is the catalytic ornament attracting such personnel from other banks.

On Corporate Social Responsibility front, ADB took an enviable positioning on the national scale and could not be closely rivaled by any bank. With US$50,000.00 donation to the popular Public Accounts Committee of the Ghanaian Parliament, ADB stood tall amongst its peers.

The historic donation was besides the yearly support that the bank has been giving to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa. And Stephen Kpordzih, the bank’s MD, since August 2009, did not let the moment pass without hammering on the various interventions that the bank is making in their stakeholder communities and in the lives of their partnering farmers.

In line with its enviable tradition, ADB was captured by our lenses, again, heavily partnering the government to honour the country’s distinguished farmers, at the Farmers’ Day celebrations. Once again, a three-bedroom house, apart from the many presentations given, was donated by ADB, to honour the nation’s best farmer(s). The bank also sponsored the first-ever Food and Agric fair (FAIRGROW) which took place in the course of the year.

The Stephen Kpordzih administration is expected, this year, to launch a number of policy initiatives including a plan to back government’s youth in agric policy.