The measures are to ensure that the assets of the banks, including customers’ deposits and other valuables, are not harmed or exploited by unscrupulous persons.
It will also help strengthen the confidence in the banking sector, where growth is returning after two years of squeeze.

The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Ernest Addison, gave the assurance at the 16th Ghana Banking Awards on July 15, where Ecobank was adjudged the Best Bank after winning the Best Bank in Financial Performance and Best Bank in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

In all, 17 award categories, including the overall award, were up for grabs.

Enforcing mandate

He explained that although technology had provided the toolkit to help the financial services industry to deliver superior services, BoG was duty-bound to protect the sanctity of those platforms.

As a result, he said: “The BoG has taken steps to minimise the risks associated with innovative change.”

“As technology brings financial services to a wider spread, BoG will ensure that customers are not harmed or exploited. This will ensure that the reputation of the system remains intact,” he said at the awards.

The governor was speaking on the theme ‘redefining a sustainable customer experience in banking; 60 years after independence.’

As a regulator of the banking sector, Dr Addison said the BoG had realised that customers’ confidence was mostly derived from an effective and stable financial system; hence, the resolve to fulfil its mandate of ensuring financial stability.

“The BoG will strictly adhere to the statutory and regulatory requirements to ensure that solvency, asset quality, liquidity and profitability of the banks are maintained.”

“This would help improve public confidence in the banking system,” he said.

Retrain staff

The governor said it was worthy to note that banks were currently leveraging technology to expand their businesses to boost market share and profitability.

“Remember the long processes of opening a bank account, transferring money from one account to the other or paying for a service?

“Today, the timing is quite different. In the comfort of one's office or home, one can transact business by the press of a button on the smartphone or the laptop. These processes have forced banks to shed off their laidback attitude and instead, put customers at the core of their businesses,” he said.

Dr Addison, therefore, urged banks to retrain their staff such that they could adapt to the digital revolution.

“Technology has driven the banking sector to focus more on customer related services. It has become necessary for banks to retrain your workforce to adapt to the digital revolution to increase overall IT skills for current employees,” he said.

Customer focus

Touching on the theme, Dr Addision said it resonated well with current developments in the banking sector.

The customer, he said, had been and continued to be the lifeline to any business and more importantly in the banking sector, where customer deposits were the main source of funding.

“The conduct of banking business has shifted away from where customers transact businesses in the banking halls. Banking business has become more customer-eccentric with more innovative banking products to meet service needs,” he said.

Ghana’s banking industry, he said, was no longer dominated by state-owned banks but was now made up of foreign and domestic, as well as some international subsidiaries.

The Executive Secretary of Corporate Initiative Ghana (CIG), organisers of the annual awards, Ms Matilda Ohene, said the awards aimed to acknowledge, from a customer perspective, the best performing banks in the country and give public recognition to them.

“It is our belief that this would stimulate healthy competition among banks, leading to improved services and rates that all of us have been yearning for,” she said.

Other winners

Other winners on the night were as follows:

Prudential Bank: Best Bank in Customer Care, Best Bank in Retail Banking and 1st runner-up in Customer Advisory Services, 1st runner-up, Corporate Banking.  

BSIC Ghana Limited: Best Bank in Customer Advisory Service, Best Bank in Corporate Banking and 1st runner-up in Customer Care.

Standard Chartered Ghana: Best Bank in Trade Finance, Best Bank Trade Deal of the Year, 1st runner-up in Competitive Pricing, 2nd runner-up in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing and 2nd runner-up in Best Bank in Promoting Cashless Transactions.

Unibank Ghana Limited: Best Bank in Long-term Loan Financing, 2nd runner-up in Best Bank in Customer Care, 2nd runner- up in Customer Advisory Service, 2nd runner-up in Best Bank in CSR and 1st runner-up in Best Growing Bank.

ADB Bank: Best Bank in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing and 1st runner-up in Most Active e-zwich Bank

United Bank for Africa (UBA): Best Bank in Product Innovation and 1st runner-up in Best Bank in Financial Performance.

Bank of Baroda: Best Bank in Competitive Pricing and 1st runner-up in Best Bank in Savings and Deposits.  
 
GN?Bank: Best Growing Bank.

GCB Bank: Most Active e-zwich Bank and 2nd runner- up in Best Bank in Competitive Pricing.  

Zenith Bank: Best Bank in Promoting Cashless Transactions.

Stanbic Bank: Best Bank in Savings and Deposits, 2nd runner-up Best Bank Trade Deal of the Year,
 
HFC Bank: 1st runner-up in Best Bank in Trade Finance, 2nd runner-up in Best Bank in CSR

Barclays Bank: 1st Runner-up, Best Bank Trade Deal of the Year, 2nd runner-up in Best Bank in Financial Performance and 1st runner-up in Best Bank in CSR

CAL Bank: 2nd runner-up, Best Bank in Long-term loan Financing

National Investment Bank (NIB): 1st runner-up, Best Bank in Long-term loan Financing, 2nd runner-up, Best in Retail Banking and 2nd runner-up, Best in Corporate Banking

Societe Generale: 1st runner-up in Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, 2nd runner-up in Best Growing Bank,  

Fidelity Bank: 2nd runner-up, Best Bank in Product Innovation, 2nd runner-up in Best Bank in Savings and Deposits.  

GT Bank: 1st runner-up, Best Bank in Product Innovation

Access Bank: 2nd runner- up in Most Active e-zwich Bank

The Royal Bank: 1st runner-up, Best Bank in Promoting Cashless Transactions, 1st runner-up, Best in Retail Banking