GCB awarded as best bank in Africa for compliance

The achievements of the leading financial and commercial service provider GCB Bank Limited, has been awarded, hence, emerged as Africa’s Best Bank in Compliance and in Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Compliance in Ghana.

The prestigious bank was rated as the best among five banks across the African continent namely FNB (South Africa), Standard Chartered Bank (Kenya), BANGE (Equatorial Guinea) and BAI (Angola).

Meanwhile, the recognition was announced on the final day of the Association for Certified Compliance Professionals in Africa (ACCPA) Conference in Johannesburg, South Africa over the weekend.

It was further explained that, ACCPA is a continental network of experienced and certified Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF) professionals working in Africa.

It said currently the organization has over 3,000 members in 46 countries with a pool of seasoned professionals in the Compliance and Risk Management landscape.

Subsequently, ACCPA members, bankers, risk and financial analysts across the African continent were summoned together by conference to dialogue on the theme; “Improving Risk and Compliance Standards in Africa.”

Also, the shortlisted banks were rated based on several criteria, including the independence of its compliance function, domestic Know Your Customer (KYC), the credibility of data, standardized procedures and global sanction screening.

It stressed further that, other standards include the effectiveness of transaction monitoring, internal controls, professional knowledge and skills, internal and external compliance, good corporate governance, top management support, regular training and auditing.

The stellar award was received by Abudulai Osman. While he received the award, he injected that, GCB’s investments in technical and financial resources into the implementation of compliance, risk program and the collaboration with reputable local and international institutions. 

In addition, he said: GCB’s investments in technical and financial resources into the implementation of compliance, risk program and the collaboration with reputable local and international institutions.  

The Chief Compliance Officer of GCB Osman together with, Deputy Head of Corporate Affairs Emmanuel Kojo Kwarteng; Anti-AML Compliance Reporting Officer Martin Kwadwo Asante and Compliance Officer of the Bank Diana Konadu Opoku.

In a remark, Mr. Osman acknowledged the commitment of the GCB Board and Management towards the strict adherence to Corporate Governance rules and for the unalloyed support towards the Compliance Department to ensure that GCB maintains the highest standards of compliance on all fronts.

Mr. Osman said that, the Bank’s policies and practices in the area of compliance are not only aligned with local laws and regulations, they also meet international best practices and standards.

In addition, he said despite this, GCB Bank consistently scans the global environment, partners with reputable local and international organizations and invests in compliance and risk management program to ensure that the Bank continues to develop proactive compliance strategies.

The President and Chairman of ACCPA Ernest Honya who announced and presented the award, praised GCB for its stellar performances over the years. Regulators were called upon and Management of financial institutions in Africa to institute and support compliance policies to avoid the collapse of such institutions.

Recently, GCB was voted the Best Bank in Ghana in Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Compliance in the country-based category of anti-money laundering compliance measures. It was the first time that Ghanaian banks have been assessed on the AML Compliance measures by ACCPA and GCB emerged as the maiden winner.

Last year, GCB was awarded the Most Compliance Focused Bank in Africa due to the incorporation and implementation of stringent policies, procedures and solutions that enable the Bank to consistently meet the regulator’s requirements as well as contribute to the global fight against financial crime.