MORE BANKS EXTEND SERVICES TO HO (PAGE 36)

WHEN the Bank for Housing and Construction (BHC) and the Ghana Co-operative Bank folded up as a result of insolvency and eventually liquidated in Ho, it was a gloomy occasion for the people, especially workers, businessmen, contractors and the entire banking public.
The effect was that many customers were compelled to open new bank accounts with the existing banks in town, namely the Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) and the Barclays Bank.
These developments led to overcrowding in the two banks, causing so much disenchantment for clients, who had to queue for long hours for service delivery. It was indeed nauseating and one wondered why one should spend so much time to access his/her own money.
But today, the banking environment is changing drastically as some financial institutions, including rural and community banks, have been opening branches and agencies in the municipality to offer prompt services to their customers.
The GCB has opened a market branch in addition to the main branch at Ho and installed customer-friendly facilities, whose absence hitherto made the banking hall unattractive. The two branches now have seats and television sets for customers.
They also have Automated Teller Machines (ATMs). Although there were frequent breakdowns in services, the GCB has seen some improvement. GCB has taken the lead in the municipality with the introduction of banking service on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
To brace itself for the emerging challenges and competition, Barclays Bank has also come up with a Point of Sale (POS) facility to augment services from its main branch, making it an obvious expansion of its services to the banking clients.
Two new banks, the Zenith and Stanbic banks, have also entered the banking scene with less pomp and have started serious banking in the municipality.
Zenith is located at the Ho Polytechnic, targeting clients in the Mawuli Estates, the Polytechnic community, the SSNIT flats and the VORADEP village and beyond while Stanbic is roofed under the popular BIZZ PLAZA, right in the heart of the town ,thus opening to prospective clients from all angles.
Two rural banks — the Unity Rural Bank with its headquarters at Ziope in the Adaklu-Anyigbe District and the North Tongu Rural Bank whose headquarters is at Adidome — have also opened branches in the municipality, making inroads into market women and a section of workers and farmers.
With the expansion of banking services, the frustration of workers, students, market women, contractors and businessmen in the municipality will certainly reduce, if not eliminated.
However, what remains to be addressed is for the banks to embark on public education on the new products and innovations in the banking market today and how they could be accessed by all and sundry.
If electronic banking is to succeed, there must be uninterrupted supply of electricity and telecommunication network services to power the ATMs, visa cards, among others.
Bank staff must be smart and responsive to customer needs in order to motivate clients so that money that has been kept in homes due to previous harsh demonetisation policies, will be returned to the banks.