GCB Shareholders will be richer- Databank Expert

Accra, May 11, GNA - Databank, one of Ghana's major financial resource houses on Friday said shareholders of Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) would be far richer following the implementation of the rights issue which kicks off with a major launch on Monday May 14, 2007. This follows GCB the final approval received from both the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Ghana Stock Exchange. Briefing the Ghana News Agency on the benefits that the process would accrue, Ms Ntiwa Kwakye, a Data Analyst of the Databank Research Department said GCB is doing well looking at the figures and its performance on the Ghana Stock Exchange and with the huge asset base they have the potential to perform. It was also to give the public an insight into what they could be buying into and why.

She noted that the total number of shares will increase, but will remain as a percentage of the total shares to be listed.

Ms Kwakye said the Bank is taking on the competition, "and if management is able to handle things well, which they seem to be doing, we expect to see something good coming out."

Ghana Commercial Bank currently has 165 million issued shares and is expecting to raise this to 240 million issued shares while raking in some 450 billion cedis in the process.

The Rights Issue is open to the entire investing public. Furthermore, the GSE will provide a platform for qualifying shareholders who do not wish to sell their entire Rights or part of their Rights to the offer to other interested investors.

She explained that with the large number of ATM rollout by the Bank and technological changes expected, GCB will soon have more customers trooping to their ATms rather than the banking halls.

"Since government pays out salaries to its employees, the halls are usually choked on many days, but with the ATM's, this is subject to change if IT is held in high esteem" Ms Kwakye called for the sustained staff training and changes in atittude, good customer care as major steps that would gain the bank yardage.

The staff need to change their cultural set up and adjust to the new culture emerging in the industry."

Officials of the Human Resource Department told the Ghana News Agency that they have contracted L'aine Services to recruit over 150 temporary staff to assist in the exercise within the various branches. The big branches are to have two of such staff, while the smaller branches will have one person assisting in the exercise. Persons wishing to buy or sell Rights to this offer may contact Strategic African Securities Limited to place their orders. Investors are also encouraged to seek advice from their Stockbrokers. The bank has since September 2006 networked all its 133 branches nationwide, thus making it a one-branch bank with all the branches "talking to each other". It has introduced an inland money transfer " GCB XPRESS", which allows customers to transmit money from any part of the country to beneficiaries.

Industry experts told the Ghana news Agency that this new status has enhanced the nation's payment systems and officials of the Bank of Ghana and Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning acceded to this saying that, "government makes huge payments through the bank for cocoa farmers and other agricultural services for farmers, not to talk about the fact that it is the bank with the largest number of branches in the country, which makes it quite easy to transfer money across the country". The Bank has also introduced Saturday banking at selected branches for a start, namely, Kaneshie Market, Madina, Liberty House, Derby Avenue, Makola, Ashaiman and Tema Market branch. GCB has been adjudged the Best Bank in Ghana by New York - Global Finance Magazine, which is in its fourteenth year. The magazine selects top banking performers in the emerging markets and covers best banks in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe.

Global Finance editors with input from industry analysts, corporate executives and banking consultants select the best emerging market bank in the region and in 24 countries employing both subjective and objective criteria for choosing the winners which included growth assets, profitability, strategic relationships customer service, competitive pricing, and innovative products. Global Finance plans to conduct an Awards Ceremony on October 22, 2007 in Washington DC during the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank. 11 May 07