Databank, a fund management company in Ghana, will re-open its independent branches on January 10, 2022 – the first time since December 22, 2022, after operating remotely virtual due to alleged physical and verbal attacks on its employees by some disgruntled customers stated by Management of the firm.
The Company, in an e-mail and text message broadcast, dated Saturday, January 7, 2023, said it “will apply a phased approach to re-opening” its physical locations.
The re-opening will commence on January 10 with business resuming at its independent branches in Accra, Cape Coast, Ho, Koforidua, Kumasi, Sunyani, Takoradi, Tamale and Tema.
Re-opening of its co-locations within GT Bank and UBA branches located in Accra, Ashaiman, Kasoa, Tarkwa, Wa and KNUST will also follow.
In an email to Data Bank clients, the firm stated that it had been affected by the liquidity challenges which had resulted in rocked fund management industry- owing to the “macro-economic crisis” facing the country.
It said the crisis had resulted in the company’s inability to pay withdrawal requests and impacted its original two-week estimate for withdrawals.
Kojo Addae-Mensah who happens to be the Chief Executive Officer of the Digital Firm explained that its fixed-income investments were in Ghana’s governmental bonds and had affected Ghana Domestic Debt Exchange (GDX) program. The CEO made this known in customer relations interactions on Zoom.
The accomplished banker with over two decades of banking experience furthered that the announcement of the GDX resulted in the shutdown of the secondary market which denied the firm the ability to sell the bonds to meet client redemption requests.
He added that the secondary market was still closed, so his outfit was engaging the government to in the interim provide liquidity to meet client redemption requests.
Mr Addae-Mensah disclosed that his outfit had engaged security personnel to provide security for its staff and clients at its branches but this was miscommunicated by some media houses who reported it as intimidation of clients.