The GCB Bank Limited (GCB) says the general public should disregard reports regarding bad corporate governance and accounting irregularities related to its loan portfolio.

In a press release on Tuesday, the bank said a supposed letter dated May 28 was posted on a fake website and subsequently circulated on social media.

The bank said the content of the letter "was authored by a group calling itself 'Concerned Staff of GCB' are false, malicious and intended to discredit the Board, Management and other stakeholders of the Bank. The malicious persons tried to imitate the official website of a credible and well-known media house in Ghana."

It said, "the Board and Management of GCB will typically not engage in communication with anonymous persons but in the interest of the bank and its reputation we feel obliged to respond to assure our cherished customers, hard-working staff and the general public that we remain committed to good corporate governance."

The Bank said it has well-structured procedures for escalating concern issues and reporting any acts of wrongdoing through a whistle blower policy.

"The group failed to adhere to the Bank’s internal procedures but rather sought to use malicious means to damage the reputation of the Bank with false information," it added.

Below is the press release:

The attention of GCB Bank Limited (GCB) has been drawn to a letter dated 28th May 2021 titled – Request to Address Issues of Corruption, Bad Corporate Governance and Selective Application of the Bank’s Policies. 

The letter was posted on a fake and cloned news website and subsequently circulated on social media last week regarding bad corporate governance and accounting irregularities related to the Bank’s loan portfolio. 

The content of the letter authored by a group calling itself “Concerned Staff of GCB” is false, malicious, and intended to discredit the Board, management, and other Bank stakeholders. The malicious persons tried to imitate the official website of a credible and well-known media house in Ghana.

The Board and Management of GCB would like to urge its staff, customers, shareholders and the general public to ignore the letter being circulated on social media and other platforms.

The Board and Management of GCB will typically not engage in communication with anonymous persons but in the interest of the bank and its reputation we feel obliged to respond to assure our cherished customers, hard-working staff and the general public that we remain committed to good corporate governance.

The Bank has well-structured procedures for escalating issues of concern and for reporting any acts of wrongdoing through a whistle blower policy. The group failed to adhere to the Bank’s internal procedures but rather sought to use malicious means to damage the reputation of the Bank with false information.

The Bank has an established credit underwriting and approval process that is comparable with international best practice and all credits are subjected to this process for approval. In the administration and monitoring of our loan portfolio, GCB has consistently complied with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and Bank of Ghana’s governance and risk management processes.

The author of the letter makes reference to related party loans which were duly approved after following the Bank’s internal processes. These related party loans were fully disclosed to the relevant authorities in accordance with regulatory requirements and were duly reported in the Bank’s 2020 audited financial statements. 

GCB remains very well capitalized with a capital adequacy ratio [CAR] significantly exceeding the minimum regulatory ratio of 13%. As of 31st December 2020 and 31st March 2021 the CAR of the bank was 20.6% and 19.7% respectively.

GCB has a rich heritage and is a national asset that must be shielded and protected from persons with malicious intent. 

Finally, management will continue to engage and collaborate with all staff and other stakeholders to execute its strategy to dominate the market in Ghana.