Customers of GCB Bank Limited at a Breakfast meeting on Tuesday showered praises on the Bank for the tremendous improvements in its operations over the past few years.

They commended the Bank for maintaining its lead on the Domestic front even in times of great challenges and for the improvements in the infrastructure, customer services, improved loan facilities, as well as in technology through expanded ATM facilities spread across the country.

The meeting, which was organised by the bank in Accra to share in some of its great successes and future plans, has some of the Institutions long saving customers as well as clients from all sectors of the economy such as the academia, military, health , education and private sectors.

The customers urged management to put up strategies to further improve upon their infrastructure and facilities in their branches, to meet the current market and consumer demands and also to mop-up the informal sectors of the economy, particularly market women, most of whom still keep their monies outside the banking system, either due to lack of proper education or mistrust of the financial sector.

The consumers expressed wonder why the bank had over the years remained only on the domestic market, and urged management to leap on to the international market to be a net contributor to the foreign exchange reserves of the country.

Professor Yao Kwawukume, Dean of the Family Health Medical School, which is yet to be opened, commended the bank for being the first financial institution to be associated with a private medical institution in the country, and recommended the facility to his colleagues in the Health sector.

Mr Simon Dornoo, Managing Director of GCB Bank Limited, said the corporate entity, which is currently one of the most accessible and visible financial institutions in Ghana, has been rebranded to shape its image of dynamism and freshness, stepping up its ATM transactions, and expanding its operations across the country.

"The bank's loan portfolio has increased significantly from 450 million Ghana cedis in 2011 to 1.3 billion Ghana cedis as the latest figures show," he said.

The bank, he said is currently undergoing a transformation programme, to ensure it maintains its position as the leading facility on the domestic front, and to continue to grow on the league of African banks, with its key focus being transformation in customer service.

Mr Dornoo said to achieve this, the bank is investing in training its staff to equip them with the skills to deliver excellent customer services to customers and embed a sales and service culture in the corporate body, to sustain its growth and profitability.

He thanked the customers for their faithfulness and support for the bank over the years and assured them of plans to start opening new branches from 2015, in areas across the country where banking activities are not present to rope-in the informal sector.