The Chief Executive officer of the Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT), Eric Otoo, says while there have been major improvements in the governance structure of the GAT banks there is still opportunity for improvement.

Incorporated under the Companies Act as a public limited liability company on December 17, 2018, Ghana Amalgamated Trust Plc (GAT) is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) established by the Government of Ghana (GoG) to support selected indigenous banks (ADB, NIB, OmniBSIC, Prudential and UMB) over five years.

According to the CEO, comparing the current situation of the GAT banks prior to their recapitalisation, there has been a marked improvement in governance structure and profitability.

He said on PM Express Business Edition that the GAT has been successful at supporting the transformation of the banks to improve governance, management, operations and financial performance to create value for stakeholders.

“For me, it's comparing the situation today versus where we started. And it's a journey. So I agree there could be opportunities to do better, to improve. But when I look back to 2019, where we're coming from or even when you go to 2017, when a lot of the changes were coming into the banking sector to improve I think a lot of improvements have come through,” he said.

He noted that GAT using the private equity model had successfully negotiated board seats and in the process had pushed for more gender balance and diversity in terms of backgrounds to strengthen the boards.

“So with the GAT banks, for instance, as we sit today, I think when I look across the boards because remember because we're using, again, the private equity model in exchange for our investments, we negotiated board seats, so we had directors on the board representing or nominated by GAT.

“And so we made sure that we brought in people with the requisite expertise, diversity in terms of backgrounds, gender, balance, all of that, to strengthen the boards, and the boards today I think are doing much better.

“And again, that’s what we’d hope, that there should be an improvement in the governance, along with improvements in management capabilities and strategies of the banks and all of that. And ultimately for me, this shows up in the improved financial results that were published by the banks,” he said.