Nduom tells the GN Bank Story, urges support for local businesses

Founder and Board Chairman of GN Bank, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom has traced back the history of GN Bank, detailing how the founders worked hard to build what has become today, the bank with the widest footprint in Ghana and has crossed the continents, including Africa and the United States of America.

Dr. Nduom was engaging in an educative television programme dubbed, ‘Made in Here’ where for the past six weeks he has been discussing why it is necessary for Ghanaians to patronise made in Ghana products.

The business mogul recounted how he had to wait for nine years in order to be granted a license to start a savings and loans company called 1st National Savings and Loans.

‘The idea of securing a universal banking license begun in May, 20 1997 when my wife and I together with Mr. Mike Eghan, Mr. Wilson Tei and Mr. Von Ballmoos then directors of Provident Insurance Company Ltd, decided to partner to bid for a license for a savings and loans company by applying to the Bank of Ghana. After waiting for so long to receive approval, the National Insurance Commission decided that Provident Insurance didn’t have enough assets to partner Coconut Grove Hotel as owners of a non-bank financial institution".

He noted that “It was not until 2006 that we were given the license to begin 1st National Savings and Loans so you can imagine the stress and the long wait to finally land this after nine years of waiting. Now look at the number of employees GN Bank has, imagine Ghana with ten, twenty or fifty of other GN Banks, that would mean that these banks can actually finance government of Ghana projects so that we will not have to go to the Bretton Woods institutions for punitive guidelines as to how to grow our economy", he continued.

He, therefore, wants the government and the people of Ghana to as a matter of urgency lend support to local companies just as is done in many other jurisdictions, where the state offers protection for companies operating in sensitive sectors of the economy to ward off undue competition that has the potential of threatening the existence of such local businesses.

"When you get to the United States of America for instance, they have laws that protect their local companies in order to protect and also create jobs for their people, this is what I’m asking for the good people of Ghana from their government. Let’s patronise made in Ghana products and services. The government should reserve some contracts for local businesses to grow their capacity because that’s the only way we can grow our economy".

Dr. Nduom is of the opinion that no nation can develop and lift its people out of poverty without enacting appropriate laws that protect and encourages local companies to grow.

GN Bank – The People’s Bank, which began as a savings and loans company in 2006, got its universal banking license in 2014 after three years of applying to the regulator, the Bank of Ghana. GN Bank has in the last four years grown to become the Bank with the most footprint of over 300 branches across the country.