… relocates head office to Airport City
National Investment Bank (NIB), as part of its transformational agenda, has relocated the operations of its head office to the Manet Towers, Airport City, Accra.
According to the Managing Director (MD) of the bank, Samuel Sarpong, after almost 60 years at the Central Business District (CBD) in Accra, the move heralds the coming of a new era for the bank and is indicative of its medium to long-term aspirations.
In an interview with the B&FT, Mr. Sarpong suggested that accessibility to the premises which housed the head office as well as visibility in the newest banking hub were significant factors in the decision.
“We are in the process of transformation and as part of that transformation, a major step that we had to take was to relocate the head office. As you are aware, the Accra Central Business District is no longer a prime location for the head offices of major corporations, particularly banks, as that whole environment is congested.
We are now at one of the three major banking hubs and we are happy to be in this location, which is very accessible to all our customers and projects the new image for the bank,” he said but quickly added that the current location doesn’t represent the permanent residence of the bank and suggested that measures are being put in place to find a long-term home for NIB.
Mr. Sarpong indicated that the transformation of the bank is not merely aesthetic but is a reflection of the reforms the bank is undergoing to be modern, competitive and profitable.
“A modern NIB will be well-run from a governance perspective. The ills of the past, in terms of a poor running of the bank which leads to losses and going back to shareholders for capital injection will be a thing of the past. Irrespective of who the manager is, once we have proper policies in place, they will have to be followed and we are looking at having a well-diversified Board, for which the bank’s Charter is being revised to make sure the Board and the committees are better structured.
Based on that, we should be able to run a modern and profitable bank. I foresee the bank being profitable, government institutions have to be profitable so that we support with taxes and corporate social responsibility and the like.”
He noted that the cultural reset the bank is undergoing will see staff being empowered to be assertive critical thinkers who do not merely do the bidding of their superiors without regard for the ultimate good of the bank, its shareholders and customers.
