Ecobank Ghana Limited has been named the Best Bank in 2014 at the 14th Ghana Banking Awards held in Accra at the weekend.
The bank, which is also celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, is the only one to have won the Bank of the Year award seven times in the 14-year history of the awards organised by Corporate Initiative Ghana (CIG).
By that feat, Ecobank has replaced Access Bank Ghana Limited as the CIG Bank of the Year. Access Bank was crowned with the title at the 13th edition of the awards held last year.
At the black-tie event that was attended by executives in the banking sector and other stakeholders, Ecobank also emerged winners in two other categories – Enterprise Finance and Financial Performance – and runner-up in four other categories.
That brought to seven, the number of awards Ecobank received at the event, which had the theme: “Identifying and rewarding excellence in the banking services proposition.”
Eighteen other commercial banks were awarded for their outstanding performances in the various segments of the banking chain during the 2014 financial year.
The Royal Bank won the Best Customer Care, Advisory Services, Long-Term/Mortgage Finance, Household and Retail Finance awards.
Stanbic Bank won the Trade Finance award; Barclays Bank, Trade Deal of the Year award; ADB Bank, Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing award, while UniBank Ghana Limited won the Product Innovation award.
Others are: Bank of Baroda, Competitive Pricing; Fidelity Bank Ghana, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); Ecobank Ghana Limited, Financial Performance; The Royal Bank, Bank Growth; UT Bank Limited, Most Active E-zwich Bank, and Zenith Bank, Promotion of Cashless Banking.
The award for the Promotion of Cashless Banking was introduced this year as part of efforts by the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System (GhIPSS) to promote a cashless economy in which most transactions would be done through electronic payment systems.
Dedication to customers
When Ecobank was mentioned as the overall winner, a jubilant team of bankers from the bank’s table, led by the Executive Director in charge of Domestic Banking, Mr George Mensah-Asante, walked through the hall packed with cheerful bankers to pick the souvenir and citation from officials on the dais.
After collecting the plaque from the title sponsors, the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Mr Mensah-Asante dedicated it to the bank’s customers, who he said: “played a key role in getting Ecobank to where it is now.”
“Last year, we introduced a lot of innovative products and also improved our customer service. We are always striving to meet and exceed expectations and that is what has paid off now,” he, told the media after the event.
Beyond it being a recognition of the bank’s commitment to service excellence, Mr Mensah-Asante said the award was a proper icing on the 25th anniversary cake of Ecobank.
Telecoms not competing with banks
Earlier, the Chief Finance Officer of Vodafone Ghana, Mr Kenneth Gomado, had commended banks for their tremendous efforts to support the country’s economic development over the years.
While commending them for providing a platform for mobile money, an invention of telecommunication companies, to thrive, Mr Gomado said that service was not intended to compete with the traditional form of banking.
“Mobile money is not here to take over banking; it is here to complement it,” he said, and called for strong collaboration between the telecoms and banking sector to help make mobile money successful in the financial intermediation process.
He hinted that Vodafone would add mobile money to the range of services it offered in Ghana and called on the banking community to help the company to make its mobile money service successful.
Source: Graphic