The National Investment Bank (NIB) has opened a branch at the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale.
It is the 41st branch nationwide and the third in the Northern Region.
Speaking at the inauguration, Mr Ernest Mawuli Agbesi, the Managing Director of the NIB, said the bank was established primarily to support the industrialisation of the country.
“Indeed, the NIB set up over 100 joint enterprises, including some of the defunct regional development corporations,” he said, adding: “Most of the major existing industries, including Nestle Ghana Limited, Novotel, now Accra City Hotel, Kabel Metal and Aluworks, benefitted from NIB’s equity participation or funding.”
Diversified market
According to Mr Agbesi, the bank had a diversified target market now which included manufacturing, infrastructure, agriculture and agri-business, construction and the services sector.
He said the financial services industry and the banking sector, for that matter, had witnessed significant competition, adding: “There is competition for location or sites for branch expansion, a scramble for customer deposits, demand for the best in terms of human resource, among other things.”
“Nonetheless, the NIB has held itself above competition. We introduced a three-year Strategic Plan (2015-2017) on the theme: ‘Accelerated Growth’. We needed to take action to accelerate the growth of the NIB to stay competitive and also meet customer expectations,” he said.
Mr Agbesi said in order to attain accelerated growth, the bank ought to take action to increase its market share, increase branch network, improve service quality to increase significantly customer loyalty, while simultaneously boosting sales and enhancing profitability, as well as providing the best possible quality service for its customers across the entire banking operations to enhance turnaround time.
Performance of the bank
Recalling the performance of the bank in the previous year, he said it deposits grew from GHc1.34 billion in 2014 to GHc1.78 billion in 2015, saying that although the banking industry grew by 32 per cent, the NIB grew by 32.61 per cent.
Mr Agbesi said total assets grew from GHc2.32 billion in 2014 to GHc2.72 billion in 2015, while profit after tax also increased from GHc79.39 million in 2014 to GHc856 million in 2015.
He said the bank’s loans and advances also grew from GHc796 million in 2014 to GHc856 million in 2015, while turnaround time for loans had improved considerably and IT infrastructure enhanced.
New branches
He spoke about plans for the future, saying: “We intend to open branches in Yendi, Mampong and Suame by the end of the second quarter of this year.”
“This new branch at UDS will re-enforce the bank’s capacity to serve its customers, especially those in education and academia. The NIB uses a single core banking platform and, therefore, its customers can access banking services in all regions and towns where the NIB has a presence,” he said.
Mr Agbesi explained that in a competitive banking market, commercial banks must seek to grow their customer base if they were to remain profitable.
According to him, one of the most effective ways to do this was through the expansion of branch networks and that was what NIB sought to achieve.
“The expansion of our branch networks will also generate large social benefits by promoting greater financial inclusion as an important tool for supporting economic development and the improvement in living standards,” he added.
He assured the students of quality customer services at the branch, saying: “We take pride in the quality of our staff and we will continue to train and recruit the best, so that we can serve you better.”
Mr Agbesi thanked the board of directors of the bank for its support for the branch expansion drive.
Some of the students, who spoke about their frustrations in accessing quality banking services, welcomed the opening of the new branch and expressed the hope that the NIB would attend to the needs of students.