NIB transformation strategy on course

The National Investment Bank (NIB) has made significant progress on its roadmap aimed at transforming the bank into a world-class financial institution. The transition plan, which forms part of a broader transformation programme, is designed to redirect the bank’s focus to supporting the country’s industrial development.

The transformation programme will see the bank deepen its hold on industries as its flagship initiative. To this end, significant progress has been made in both human resource training and systems to help achieve this target state.

To consolidate the gains made from implementing the strategy, a reconstituted Board of Directors chaired by Mr. Kofi Owusu Sekyere has been inducted with a mandate to achieve the bank’s new strategy.

Ensuring the bank is run efficiently has become more critical now than ever. To achieve this, management in consultation with the majority shareholder, board of directors and the unions approved a voluntary exit programme whereby employees were given an opportunity to voluntarily exit the bank. This exercise began a few months ago, and has been successfully implemented as an initial step in optimising staff numbers.

Another key initiative was relocating the head office from the crowded Accra Central business district to the Airport City enclave. This move, coupled with ongoing improvements in operations, has made a positive impact on the bank’s corporate and brand image – as customers and prospective investors have unimpeded access to the head office to transact business

NIB was originally established to provide financial, advisory and technical support to industry for the country’s growth and development. This objective, however, was diluted over time; given that access to long-term capital for on-lending to manufacturing firms in the country became difficult, hence its venture into universal banking.

Managing Director, Mr. Samuel Sarpong says: “The bank’s transformation is not mere rhetoric or aesthetics but a real step toward its total restructuring. As the transformation programme progresses, Ghanaians will experience nothing less than a proud local bank supporting industries”.

He added: “Governance at the bank has been immensely improved, and the balance sheet management has also been enhanced. IT Infrastructure at the bank as well as security around it have been enormously boosted. Again, the bank’s product and service offerings are being revamped, and the risk and compliance framework among others have all been greatly improved”.

Mr. Sarpong emphasised that NIB is never again going to be run poorly. “The phenomenon wherein the bank has to fall on shareholders for a capital injection due to losses will be a thing of the past after this transformation exercise.”

Following the National Development Bank’s (NDB) recent establishment by government, long-term capital will be available to the bank for long-term lending to the manufacturing sector. This, if attained and sustained, will help Ghana industrialise; thus creating more jobs for the country’s teeming youth.

Source: B&FT