FBNBank Ghana says ready to meet GH¢400m capital requirement
FBNBank Ghana is in a good position to meet the minimum capital requirement of GHC 400 million set by the Bank of Ghana, Dr Adesola Adeduntan, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer First Bank of Nigeria and subsidiaries, has assured stakeholders.
Speaking at the commissioning of a new head office and branch of FBNBank Ghana, Dr Adeduntan applauded the Bank of Ghana for the recapitalization move, saying the resultant mergers and acquisitions would be good to safeguard stakeholder investments and retain confidence in the Ghanaian banking system.
“We are confident of realizing this great feat because we have a proven record of excellence in banking from our parent bank, First Bank, Nigeria,” he said.
Dr Adeduntan said First Bank would continue to make the needed investments in its operations in Ghana to grow the business as well as support the structures in place to ensure a vibrant banking sector.
He said a strong presence in Ghana was of strategic relevance to the bank’s operations as a leading financial institution on the continent.
“The opening of this new head office and branch is a testament to our long-term commitment and a sign of our pledge to deliver innovative banking powered by superior customer experiences, first to our customers and the banking industry as a whole,” Dr Adeduntan said.
He lauded the achievement of FBNBank Ghana since the start of operations but urged the staff to see the new head office building as a call to higher service excellence delivery to customers and stakeholders.
On his part, Mr Gbenga Odeyemi, the Managing Director FBNBank Ghana, said the opening of the head office was a demonstration that the bank is here for the long haul with the vision to be the clear leader and Ghana’s bank of first choice.
“This new head office building, beyond projecting a modern corporate image for the FBNBank Ghana brand is a symbol of the golden standard we are offering to our customers and everyone,” he said.
He said the bank prided itself on excellent customer service, which goes beyond the provision of basic services to meeting customers’ holistic needs and exceeding the customers’ expectations.
“It is about solving the problem the customer brought to the bank, it is also about innovative banking. It is about creative ideas powered by technology to meet the customers’ complex needs in an efficient manner,” Mr Odeyemi said.
Mr Odeyemi said the bank would be coming up with very strong strategies to motivate Small and Medium Enterprises in their efforts and commended government on the initiative to promote made in Ghana goods.
Mr Edmund Nelson, a Director of the Banking Supervision Department of the Bank of Ghana, said as the economy was rebounding, the banking sector needed to be well positioned to support the growth potential of the economy.
He said it is the responsibility of the Bank of Ghana as regulator to ensure a resilient banking system to protect the safety and soundness of the financial system.
It is in this direction that the Bank of Ghana has set the minimum capital requirement of banks to GHC 400 million and given them up to December 2018 to comply, he said.
Mr Nelson said the banks would be required to submit a capitalization plan to the Bank of Ghana, adding that the regulator would also encourage banks, where there were challenges of raising the capital single-handedly, to explore merger arrangements as early as possible to meet the deadline.
Source: GNA