GUTA lauds adb shares floatation

The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) on Wednesday said it supported the adb Bank Ghana Limited’s intended stock market floatation, as this would raise capital for business expansion, and foster positive growth prospects.

“Banking is very important to us traders and businessmen…..This is a proactive step and we support wholeheartedly any move that would ensure the efficiency of the adb bank”, Mr George Kwaku Ofori, President of the GUTA told the media after a stakeholder consultation between the association and the bank’s management in Accra.

The adb is gearing up to list on the stock exchange to raise some GH¢300 million to recapitalize and revamp the operations of the bank to make it distinctively relevant to all sectors of the economy, and as a result it (adb) is consulting with all stake holders to enable them to appreciate the outlook of the bank and its quest to become a top-notch competitor in the workings of the banking sphere.

Mr Ofori said they had had fruitful deliberations with the management of the bank and that they were particularly happy that the Bank had included in their operations, the Small and Medium-Scale Entrepreneurs (SME) banking module, which would enable them to assess credit to grow their businesses.

“It is an ideal situation that the bank is consulting with us for our input in the improvement of the bank’s portfolio of services. We are looking forward to better and enhanced services, as the bank seeks to improve the profitability of its operations.

“We all (Ghanaians) own this bank, and it must be efficient. Efficiency is what we want as business people and we would buy into any efficient financial institution, Mr Ofori said.

Engaging the GUTA executives on the Bank’s readiness to go on the market, Mr Stephen Kporzdi, Managing Director of the adb, explained that the current ownership structure as a state-owned, the bank is unable to access medium and long-term funds that exist elsewhere, including financial institutions like the IFC, CDC among others.

He urged the members to support the Initial Public Offering (IPO), as this would ensure that the bank becomes an effective financial institution capable of growing business.

Currently, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) owns 48 per cent of the adb Bank, with the rest being owned by the government. BoG is offsetting all its shares, because it cannot be a regulator and an operator at the same time. Government also seeks to whittle down its sharers in the institution.