Capital Bank excels at 15th Ghana Banking Awards

Rev odonkor displaying the awards

Indigenous financial institution, Capital Bank, has won three prestigious awards at the just-ended 15th Ghana Banking Awards held in Accra.

Capital Bank was adjudged as the Best Growing Bank, Best Bank in Deposits & Savings and Best Bank in Household/Retail Banking for the year 2015.

The awards follow Capital Bank’s recent recognition as the 8th ranked bank and the 25th best company at the 2016 Ghana Club 100 Awards organised by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC).

The Managing Director of Capital Bank, Rev. Fitzgerald Odonkor, said the three awards won at this year’s Ghana Banking Awards is an indication that the bank is on track to achieving its strategic goal of being a tier 1 bank within five years.

“The year 2015 was quite volatile with sharp increases in utility tariffs, depreciation of the Ghana Cedi especially in the first quarter of the year, high interest rates, high inflation rates and the adverse effects of the country’s energy crisis. Capital Bank also went through a transition which culminated in the launch of a new corporate identity focused on being a stronger player in Ghana’s retail banking sector and a tier 1 bank in 5 years. Therefore to win three strategic awards is quite impressive.

We are excited by this recognition and these awards place a higher burden on us to continue to excel and improve on the high standards we have set for ourselves," Rev. Odonkor said.

Strategies to enhance sustain high standards and pursue growth

Rev. Odonkor outlined series of initiatives that Capital Bank has initiated to consolidate its market position and continue to grow.

This year has witnessed a flurry of various strategic initiatives aimed at accelerating the Bank's growth. This includes the launch of the V-man campaign in March, which is aimed at encouraging a savings culture by giving customers free cash vouchers to open accounts at any Capital Bank branch nationwide.

Innovation and Technology has been critical to Capital Bank’s growth. It is the first and only financial institution to make it possible for customers to deposit cash into their accounts using their mobile phone through its SpeedPay solution.

The SpeedPay solution, which was relaunched this year, has also evolved beyond a cash deposit solution and can now be used by both customers and non-customers to make payments online through various platforms.

Capital Bank has also partnered Allied Oil to make it possible for customers to purchase SpeedPay Vouchers at any Allied Oil filling station nationwide.

“We believe that one of the challenges many businesses and individuals face is the limitation of not being able to bank their cash after normal banking hours. Therefore, the partnership with Allied Oil and other distributors is to practically extend our banking services to over 80 outlets nationwide and banking hours to a minimum of 18 hours” – Rev. Odonkor stated.

The Bank’s focus on delivering value-added services has also resulted in a partnership with Africa World Airlines (AWA), an indigenous airline servicing the domestic and sub-regional routes, which makes it possible for customers to make flight bookings and purchase Africa World Airline tickets from any Capital Bank branch nationwide.

Capital Bank is also in the process of deploying over 38 sophisticated ATMs that allow customers to do interbank and intra-bank funds transfer from their Capital Bank account to any bank through the Ghana Instant Pay platform and also through the Bank’s internet banking platform.

The Bank is also increasing its presence by extending its branch network to 22 nationwide by end of this year.

Capital Bank is set to launch new ultra-modern branches at Labone, Airport, Achimota and Harper Road in Kumasi. This year, Capital Bank also opened a new ultra-modern branch on the Oxford Street in Osu. “As part of our new corporate identity, we are rolling out contemporary branches that are world class in terms of visual appeal but also communicates our strong African identity,” Rev. Odonkor said.

As part of the Bank’s new corporate strategy, it has restructured its business units in order to give critical attention to key market sectors. “We believe that to achieve our goal of being a tier 1 bank in less than five (5) years, we must restructure our business units to focus on various market segments to maximize our ability to churn out more customized solutions with speed and precision” – Rev. Odonkor added.

On customer service, Rev. Odonkor stated that banking is dominated by human intervention and as such the quality of human interaction and customer service is an important competitive advantage especially in an era where technology diffuses quickly and there’s little product differentiation.

Capital Bank (CB) formerly First Capital Plus (FCP) Bank is a wholly-owned Ghanaian bank that was licensed to operate as a Class 1 Universal Bank effective August, 2013 after operating as First Capital Plus Savings & Loans Company from October 29, 2009. It currently has 18 branches with a focus of increasing its branch network to 22 by the end of the year.