Thirty-three banks are expected to compete for this year’s Ghana Banking Awards(GBA) scheduled for July 8, 2017.
In all, the banks will compete for 17 award categories including the coveted Bank of the Year Award.
Speaking at the launch of the 16th edition of the Ghana Banking Awards, the Chairman of the Awards Planning Board, Nana Otuo-Acheampong explained that, exceptionally all 33 banks qualify for some of the 18 Awards at stake.
“We are excited about the theme for the 16thGBA, which is: ‘Redefining a Sustainable Customer Experience in Banking, Sixty Years after Independence”
He explained that the theme puts a premium on the main asset base of banks – the customers, whose experience ought to be sustained for the growth of banking.
He pointed out that the availability of information has grown both in quantity and complexity changing the phase of banking.
Elaborating on the Approach and Methodology, Nana Otuo-Acheampong it will be based on both qualitative and quantitative analyses.
“Qualitatively, the methodology undertakes face to face interviews with the banks’ customers to evaluate the experiences they have had. For example, the Customer Care Award category is based on qualitative analysis. Exceptionally, all 33 banks qualify to be assessed qualitatively,” he said.
“For the quantitative evaluation, a bank must have at least 2 years audited financial statements. For example, the Financial Performance Award category is based on the quantitative data on the banks,” he added.
He stated that the Approach and Methodology document for the awards has been scrutinized and agreed upon by the Technical Committee, which consists of representatives of all 33 banks.
He disclosed that the assurance for both data analyses – qualitative and quantitative – is provided by a Big-Four auditing firm, Ernst & Young, who bring their globally acclaimed reputation to bear positively on the integrity of the process.
Below are the Award Categories
There are fifteen plus 2 award categories identified and agreed upon by the Technical Committee. These are:
- Customer Care
- Advisory Services
- Trade Finance
- Trade Deal of the Year
- Long Term Loan Finance
- Savings/Deposit Account
- Retail Banking
- Corporate Banking
- Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
- Products and Services Innovation
- Competitive Pricing
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Financial Performance
- Bank Growth, and
- Bank of the Year
The other two Awards are exclusively given and sponsored by the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems (GHiPSS):
- The Most Active E-zwich Bank
- The Bank that Promotes Cashless Transactions
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By: Lawrence Segbefia/citibusinessnews.com/Ghana