Group Chief of Databank Kojo Addae-Mensah has maintained that, a robust governance structure is key in the success story of any business entity.

According to him, the feat achieved by Databank, which is the leading investment bank in the country is solely due to exceptional good governance conduct.

Speaking on Radio Univers which was monitored by Talksafrica.com Mr. Addae-Mensah explained that his outfit has stood the test of time as its managers have ensured that they operate in honesty and high level of transparency.

“I think the most important thing that has kept us standing out and promoting the brand is our governance system. Every year we subject our self to an annual general meeting where we invite all clients, we are publishing our results every quarter, and we’re filing them at the Securities and Exchange Commission…. So the level of transparency and the strength and rigour of our governance is honestly what has kept us going”

Mr. Addae-Mensah also educated Ghanaians on the dichotomy between commercial and investment banks outlining that they exist gross differences and should be seen as such

One of the differences the business man mentioned was the commercial bank’s ability and readiness to offer loans to their clients.

“When you walk to a commercial bank you open a demand deposit account like a saving, current or fixed deposit account but at Databank I can’t give you an account with an ATM and a cheque book. At Databank I can’t open a fixed deposit account for you and tell you that come in 3 months’ time for x percent. You can establish a trade finance LC in a commercial bank but not in an investment bank. Same way you can go for loans at a commercial bank but not an investment bank.”

Responding to the banking sector reforms that went down year back, Mr. Addae Mensah disclosed that, the BoG’s move affected investment banks due to the sort of partnerships they have with custodian banks which majorly are commercial banks.

“It affected us a great deal. As investment bank we partner with investment banks for the process of withdrawal and deposits. By the action the Central Bank too created a bit of hump in our operations. So those who had deposits with the banks that were consolidated had to undergo a lot of conciliation.”

Attitude of Ghanaians towards investment.

A lot of the Ghanaian populace have a negative attitude towards investment despite the several educational platform advising that a cedi today is worth more than cedi tomorrow.

Making your money work for you is a simple task that is premised on being privy to information yet a lot of people miss this opportunity including business gurus who have their own reserved thoughts.

The recent issue with gold dealership firm Menzgold might cement the stance of such persons who uphold such thoughts but these are views of some Ghanaians toward investment.

Commenting on the attitude on risk assessment before investing Mr. Addae Mensah maintained that a lot of Ghanaians are rate oriented and are easily caught in the net of Ponzi schemes due to the lack of education and exposure.

“We are very rate oriented and that’s why people don’t take time to really understand before going for an investment product of a firm. So the attitude is not great not because people are not wise but just a lack of education thus it’s important for us to continue the education drive to let people understand what really it is to invest in Mutual funds and treasury bills among others” he said

In conclusion, Mr. Addae Mensah admonish Ghanaians to be quick to ask questions rather than chase rates thus entreated the public to invest wisely and invest today with Databank being the preferred investment partner.

Paa Kweku Eshun Talksafrica.com