Finance Minister inaugurates new National Investment Bank board
The Minister of Finance, Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta has charged the newly reconstituted Board of Directors for National Investment Bank (NIB) to turn around the fortunes of the Bank to position Ghana as an industrial hub on the Africa continent.
“I believe the task for the reconstituted board is laid out clearly. You must work together to secure a complete turnaround of NIB into the profitable strategic national asset it ought to be,” the Minister issued this charge during the inauguration of a nine-member board for NIB in Accra.
The National Investment Bank in the year 2020 secured some GH¢800million capital injection from the Government of Ghana to boost its capital position. That was also to improve liquidity and position the bank to be profitable. In addition, the bank introduced some reforms: policy guidelines for the board, management, and staff, all as means to solidify the status of the bank.
While Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta was aware of all that, he intimated that the board must continue to work with Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT) to fast-track the recapitalisation and reposition the Bank as a modern industrial finance institution. On that note, he stressed that supporting the expansion of Ghana’s industrial capacity was crucial for structural transformation.
The Hon. Minister believed that to expand local industries and to build back Ghana as an industrial base, resources must be channelled through NIB to achieve that ambition.
“We have a documented history of outsourcing most of our productive capacity, and consequently, we have lost our industrial base. To transition towards a resilient economy, we have to direct resources through NIB to fund the collective expansion of our local industries”, he stated.
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The reconstituted board for NIB is chaired by Mr. Kofi Owusu Sekyere. The members are: Mr. Samuel Sarpong, Mr. Michael Ayesu, Mr. Dennis adjei Dwomah and Mrs. Lynn Allotey Gadzepo. The others are: Mr, Ken Kanyagui, Mr. Kow Amponsah Sam, Hon. Kofi Okyere-Agyekum and Dr. Gideon Boako.
In response to the charge, the Board Chair, Mr. Kofi Owusu Sekyere assured the Hon. Minister that the new board would do their utmost best to turn the bank around. “I would also like to assure Hon. Minister that steps would be taken to restore NIB to its core mandate of providing critical financial and advisory services to industry”, he emphasized.
Importantly, Mr. Sekyere believed that the relocation of the Head Office from the Accra Central Business District had significantly enhanced the brand image of the bank.
“This reinvigorated image we believe, can be leveraged to enhance the bottom lines of the NIB”, he stressed.
He noted that a new management team with a wealth of experience had been in place and had been able to among other things, stabilize the bank and reduce losses, and developed a strategic plan aimed at transforming the bank from its current commercial banking business model to one that focused on industrial development.
