Energy Bank Ghana Limited is to increase its capital base to over GH¢100 million by the first quarter of next year in order to support infrastructure financing. It is also intended to raise the bank’s capacity to partner players in the oil, gas and energy sector to develop the industry. “To be able to finance infrastructure and play a role in the emerging oil and gas industry, banks need a heavy capital base to finance big-ticket transactions. Investment in public infrastructure is crucial for the development of the economy,” Mr. Sam Ayininuola, the bank’s Managing Director said. He was speaking to Business and Financial Times on the performance of the bank and the banking industry. Recent estimates show that the country’s infrastructure deficit requires sustained spending of at least US$1.5billion per annum over the next ten years to close the gap. Given the limited budgetary resources, the country’s huge deficit in infrastructure cannot be met by the public sector alone through budget allocations. This brings to the fore the crucial role of private-sector investment in infrastructure. Government last month launched the National Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Policy which aims at leveraging public assets and private-sector resources and expertise from local and international markets to accelerate needed investment in infrastructure and services. The Bank of Ghana, which has often worried about having to waive prudential limits for some banks involved in huge deals, has already initiated moves to boost banks’ capital and enable them do bigger deals -- especially in the growing oil and gas industry. The re-capitalisation programme requires banks to reach a minimum capital requirement of GH¢60million by the end of 2012. Foreign banks in the country have already attained the new capital requirement, but local banks have up to the end of 2012 to attain the minimum capital requirement. “We have seen lots of improvement in the banking sector as a result of the influx of foreign banks. This has helped shape the banking industry; there is now serious competition and aggressive marketing,” said Mr. Ayininuola. Touching on the banking products and services available in the country, Mr. Ayininuola noted that “Basically, they are all liability-generating products; but gradually as the economy grows, product sophistication will rise. The products must be in sync with the level of development.” Energy Bank Ghana Limited started operations in February this year. Its unaudited account shows that as at October 31, 2011, customers deposits stood at GH¢59million, while profit stood at GH¢3million. It is to commission three new offices in Accra Central, Tema and Kumasi by the end of the year. The bank recently got approval from the Bank of Ghana for the introduction of a new product called Temple Account, which is targetted at the churches.