The Guaranty Trust Bank (Ghana) Limited (GTBank) has indicated its resolve to serving the people of the Upper West Region with the provision of tailor-made banking products and services that meet the economic and social needs of the people in the region.
It said its objective was to empower the people through all forms of financial support, and would therefore take into consideration the economic and social activities of the people in the region which included agriculture and petty trading.
Madam Agnes Owusu-Afram, the Divisional Head, Corporate Communication and Experience, made this known in Wa on Thursday at the official opening of a branch of the bank.
“The fallout of today’s ceremony gives us the indication that what we are planning or had planned need to speed up. Agriculture and commerce is the key here, therefore we have to complete the tailored-made products for these two sectors”, she explained.
She explained that the bank had prioritized financial inclusion for women hence its decision to sponsor programmes tailored for women such as the "Di Asa" show on Atinka TV.
According to her, the decision to open a branch of the bank in the region was based on a popular request from customers to have the physical banking services closer to them and that most of the customers operated on their digital platform and "others had accounts with us elsewhere but doing businesses in the region."
Madam Owusu-Afram indicated that the region would not only benefit from the services of the bank, but also the Cooperate Social Responsibility (CSR) services it provided and said the Upper West region was the next target for it its CSR activities.
She assured the customers and prospective customers of strict adherence to the security protocols by the various security services and the banking sector regulators to protect the customers from financial and other crimes as far transacting business with the GTBank was concerned.
Naa Seidu Fuseini Pelpuo IV, the overlord of the Wala Traditional Council, in a message on his behalf by Naa Jamal Kpegla, Kpama Naa, said the presence and operation of the GTBank in the region was refreshing as it would augment the services provided by the existing financial institutions in the region.
He, therefore, expressed hopes that the bank would extend it branches to other parts of the region, while appealing to the management of the bank to consider supporting the people in the region in the agricultural sector as the agric sector was the main stay of the people in the region.
On his part, Superintendant Franklin Kramoh, the Wa Municipal Police Commander, assured the Monument of the GTBank of the police’s readiness to support them in the discharge of their services to the police by providing the needed security for both the staff and customers of the bank.
“Those who come to withdraw huge sums of money and fear they will be attacked can seek police escort, and we are available to provide that service”, he assured.
He also advised the customers to be cautious of the activities of fraudsters who might call them in the name of the bank to transact business, and urged them to be conversant with the operational code of the bank to avoid falling victim to the fraudsters.
Mr Issahaku Tahiru Moomin, the Wa Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) also entreated the management of GTBank to be innovative in the service they provided to the people in order to stand tall among the financial institutions in the region.