The Managing Director of Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) Limited, Mr. Simon Dornoo, has stressed the need for more partnerships between the media and the Bank.
He said as a Bank that seeks to promote transparency, GCB has always tried to maintain good relations with the media.
Speaking at a press soiree in Accra, Mr. Dornoo who assumed office as Managing Director in March this year, said maintaining healthy relations with the media meant GCB would be accessible and provide timely and accurate information to help the media and the Bank to fulfill their missions and objectives.
Attended by senior editors and journalists across the private and state media and the leadership of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), the programme provided the opportunity for the Managing Director to interact with media and to lay bare his vision for the Bank.
Mr. Samuel Sarpong, Deputy Managing Director, Operations, Mr. Ebenezer K. Ntreh, Acting General Manager, Human Resource Division and Ms. Joyce Atta-Krah, General Manager, Retail Banking Division of GCB, were present at the ceremony.
Mr Dornoo emphasised the importance of fostering a harmonious relationship with the media when he quoted William Berbach saying, "All of us who professionally use the mass media are shapers of society. We brutalise it or we can help lift it on to a higher level."
Quoting the former President of the USA, Bill Clinton on the profitable use of time, the Managing Director said "while we don't all have the same amount of money, we do have access to the same 24 hours in every day. Though some people have less free time than others, nearly everyone can carve out an opportunity. The gift of time can sometimes be more satisfying and more valuable than money."
"The Management and staff of GCB are grateful to you for sparing us some of your valuable time," the Managing Director said.
He paid a glowing tribute to Mr. Lawrence Adu-Mante, the former Managing Director of the Bank and the media for nurturing such healthy relationship.
Touching on his mission and vision for the Bank, Mr. Dornoo said the simple answer "is to win in this highly competitive banking industry."
"This means improving customer satisfaction, creating and nurturing an environment for employees to develop their careers, achieving operational excellence and contributing positively to the development of our communities and by doing all these we should deliver superior returns to the owners of the business in order to attract investments for future growth," he explained.
Mr. Dornoo said as GCB journeys to become the best bank the support of the media was necessary by way of providing feedback on the Bank's activities.
GCB, the Managing Director said, has a strong heritage; "it is regarded as Ghana's bank, it is an embodiment of the aspirations of the people and I hope we can count on your continued support to ensure that it continues to earn the trust and confidence of its existing and future customers and the public at large as it strives towards achieving a pre-eminent status in Ghana's banking industry."
The Management of the Bank astonished the leadership of the GJA and journalists present when without their knowledge, the Managing Director announced a donation of GH¢2,500.00 towards this year's GJA Awards celebration slated for August.
The presentation of the cheque was done by the DMD Operations, Mr. Samuel Sarpong and the Managing Director.
The President of the GJA, Mr. Ransford Tetteh, appealed to the Bank to assist in training journalists to acquire skills to report accurately on small and medium enterprises.
He commended the Management of the Bank for prioritizing issues and opening up to the media.