BEIGE Capital makes strides
In spite of the generally low deposit receipts throughout the 2014 financial year, BEIGE Capital ended the year with total assets of GH¢ 540 million.
At an annual general meeting in Accra with its stakeholders, the bank made it known that the current growth represented an increase of 29 per cent from GH¢ 297 million in 2013.
Total liabilities also increased to GH¢ 440m in 2014 from GH¢ 250m the previous year.
Additionally, it said customer accounts closed in excess of 150,000 customers from the previous year’s position of 96,000 customers, representing an annual growth of 56 per cent.
Retained clients
Addressing the meeting, the Chief Executive Officer of BEIGE Capital, Mr Mike Nyinaku, lauded the efforts of the management and staff for their resilience and loyalty which had brought the bank such achievements.
He said due to the continuous devaluation of the cedi in 2014, the banking industry generally experienced an increased volume of withdrawals as customers sought to hold deposits in US dollars instead of the local currency.
“This notwithstanding, BEIGE Capital was able to retain most of its high profile corporate deposit clients and also attract a good number of high net worth individual clients,” he said.
Additionally, he said throughout the year, the bank’s most important feat “was the fact that we met all our deposit redemption commitments as and when they fell due; thus inducing a great deal of confidence in our clients about the safety of the investments they continue to hold with us”.
Universal banking licence
Responding to a question about whether BEIGE Capital was considering a universal banking licence, Mr Nyinaku said, “Our board has not ruled that out yet, but we would like to perfect our processes and systems before we transit into that stage of business.”
He also gave an insight into the status of the Brand Equity (BE) Project which the bank launched in 2013 and assured members that the bank was on track to meet its target for Project BE, as it was popularly known among the staff members.
Mr Nyinaku also made known to the stakeholders some other projects that the bank was embarking upon as it continued to consolidate its position within the industry.
Data centre
He gave information about the new data centre for BEIGE Capital and the BEIGE Talent programme.
According to him, the new centre, when established, would enhance the operational efficiency of the bank to compete more effectively.
Also, the facility would house a set of modern technology and software to support the bank’s information technology infrastructure and become the backbone of the bank’s operations.
Mr Nyinaku also added that with the growth of mobile computing and internet services, customers were becoming increasingly technology savvy and looking for improved and expanded service options.
“So this data centre has come in handy as the bank plans to compete in the e-banking band wagon,” he added.
In addition to this, Mr Nyinaku said the bank had also procured a new software to enhance the quality of service to its customers.
Touching on the BEIGE Talent programme, Mr Nyinaku said the programme, which was being managed in collaboration with BEIGE Academy, the learning and development subsidiary of the BEIGE Group, was part of a medium-term strategy to attract, groom and retain quality talent.
“Beyond 2017, about 80 per cent of our key talents will be products of our academy,” he said.