The management of the GCB Bank has explained that the unique attributes of the distressed UT Bank and Capital Bank influenced the decision to acquire them from the Central Bank.
Addressing a press conference at its head office in Accra on Tuesday, the Managing Director of the bank, Mr Anselm Ray Sowah said the two banks had unique attributes that the bank would use to expand and develop its brand.
Mr Sowah, however, added that although it would cost the bank (GCB) some money to put the two delicensed banks on sound footing, GCB was prepared to pay the cost.
Integration
“We are prepared to pay that money”, he said, adding that the bank would integrate the activities of the two banks into its operations gradually.
Photo shows from right the Managing Director of GCB Bank, Mr Anselm Ray Sowah; the Chief Operating Officer of GCB, Mr Samuel Sarpong (middle) and the Chief Operating Officer of GCB, Mr Socrates Afram seated at the press conference
He said GCB with the experience and capacity of running a sustainable and profitable institution over six-and-half decades has the mettle to take up the two institutions to build an even stronger bank.
According to Mr Sowah, the bank had done due diligence on the two acquisitions and that there was no cause for alarm because GCB Bank would take steps to ensure that it minimized the adverse impact of the integration.
“It is a sign of excellent things to come and we promise to make a marked difference in customer service experience going forward”, he said.
Staff
Touching on the fate of the staff of the two banks, Mr Sowah said although the bank would absorb staff of the two banks, it would cut down their numbers to meet the strategies of GCB.
He, however, declined to mention the percentage of staff that the bank intends to get rid of from the two defunct banks.
“We will review all the current positions and situations against the planned strategy, organizational structure and staffing requirements of the expanded GCB for right-sizing”.
He added that the “all the employees of the two banks are now the new employees of GCB”.
Service
The Chief Operating Officer of GCB, Mr Samuel Sarpong in his remarks assured customers of the two banks not to panic with their investments, saying that GCB would provide them with better services.
A section of the journalists at the press conference
According to him, the customers of the two defunct banks “are now part of a bigger and stronger brand”, adding that “we will meet and exceed their expectations”.
For his part, the Chief Operating Officer of GCB, Mr Socrates Afram said the over 100,000 customers of the Capital Bank would be well catered for under the management of GCB.
He admonished the customers of the two absorbed banks not to be worried about customer service they would get, as GCB would offer them superior service than what they were used to.
He has, therefore, encouraged the customers to maintain their accounts with GCB without rushing to take their investments from the banks.
