By Ademola Alawiye

Monday, 1 Nov 2010

The Managing Director, Afribank Plc, Mr. Nebolisa Arah, has said that the consolidation stage of ongoing reforms in the bank will take off early next year.

According to a statement by the bank, the consolidation stage, which is the third stage of the bank‘s turnaround plan, will build on all the gains of the previous two stages.

Arah noted that the bank would end the second phase of its turnaround plan with a resounding success in view of the signs the bank was experiencing.

He said, “Afribank is in the second phase of its two-year strategic turnaround plan, after successfully completing the first phase, which ensured diagnostic cleaning up and reengineering.

“The second phase – transformation phase – commenced since April 2010, and the results and signs are pointing us in the direction of very sustainable growth.”

Arah added that the bank was also extensively and strategically realigning personnel, while at the same time working on improving market effectiveness and qualitative offerings with set goals of increasing business opportunities.

He said, “In the past couple of months, Afribank has restructured its business process, with emphasis on strategic business units, which has deepened business relationships. The bank has restructured the inspectorate and controls department towards ensuring strong controls in the bank.

“The customer service and branch transformation projects are ongoing with a series of strategic programmes, such as customer forum and employee relations interactive engagements to ensure that customers’ visit to any of the bank’s business locations is fulfilling, and that members of staff deliver the best services without losing sight of local realities.”

Arah added, “Most of our strategic initiatives accounted for return to profitability, and successes in other indices. A profit before tax of N5.5bn was posted in the half year of 2010 and the liquidity ratio has stabilised above minimum regulatory requirement. We have strengthened corporate governance structures, and recovered over N70bn non-performing loans.”

Source: Punch