Business News of Monday, 22 April 2013
Source: graphic.com.gh
SOFGEN Group, an IT solutions company, has partnered Harland Financial Solutions to introduce a software that would help banks manage their credit risks effectively.
Dubbed ‘credit quest,’ it is expected to help credit risk managers develop initiatives that would enhance their credit quality and ensure regulatory compliance without sacrificing efficiency.
The group has subsequently met with top level executives of banks in Ghana at a forum organised by SOFGEN West Africa, the SOFGEN group’s local subsidiary, in Accra, on the theme ‘Improving Bank’s Credit Quality- Challenges and Opportunities.’
The forum exposed the top executives on how banks could improve their credit risk management capabilities by implementing sound lending practices.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of SOFGEN, Mr Tunde Oladele, recent global banking crises have made it painfully clear that when credit decisions are made based on assumptions and/or incomplete information, the results could be catastrophic.
“Lenders, therefore, have the responsibility to adopt credit risk management initiatives that will guarantee a high level of credit quality,” he added.
The Chairman of SOFGEN West Africa, Mr Emma Asiedu Mantey, said the software would assist banks to make use of technology to improve asset and loan quality.
He explained that the high lending rates stemmed from inability of credit managers to recover loans granted to their creditors, as it is factored in before pegging interest rates.
According to him, most banks depended largely on lending to make profits, adding that the ability to recover loans would translate into a reduction in interest rates and non performing loans in banks.
The two companies have assisted several banks in establishing a risk-focused structure in the area of credit management.