November 24, (THEWILL) – Many customers of Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), have applauded the restoration of effective service delivery by the bank, following the completion of its tech-system upgrade. The bank had last month embarked on the upgrade of its core banking applications in line with industry demands. This exercise which led to weeks of harrowing experience saw the customers pass through frustrations in the use of the bank’s various service channels.
In a message to its customers via e-mail, the bank announced that it would embark on the weeklong tech-service upgrade which, it noted, would create some operational hitches before completion.
Part of the message, dated October 10, 2024, read:
“Important Notice: Transition to a Robust Suite of Core Banking Application Systems:
“As part of our commitment to bringing meaningful improvements to the lives of our customers, by leveraging technology, we will begin the transition from our current Core Banking Applications to a new and robust suite of Finacle Core Banking Application Systems, on Friday, October 11, 2024.
“During this period, we kindly ask you to bear with us as all our branches nationwide will close early to customers at 12 noon on Friday, October 11 and reopen at 9 am on Monday, October 14.
“Additionally, there will be service disruptions on our digital banking channels for 11 hours, specifically between 10 pm on Sunday, October 13 and 9 am on Monday October 14.”
The bank went further to itemise the period when there would be service disruptions per banking channel.
THEWILL visited many branches of Guaranty Trust Bank in Lagos and some up-country locations last week which revealed that normal banking services had been restored and that the system had become more efficient hitch-free.
Some customers interviewed at the busy Akowonjo branch in Alimosho Local Government Area, expressed satisfaction with the bank’s upgraded facilities, acknowledging that the channels have become more efficient and seamless.
“I can see that those days of frustration were not in vain. I am happy that the bank now has more efficient and seamless service applications that meet and exceed customers’ expectations. All the banking channels I have used proved far better than what they used to be,” said Marcos Ejemba, a building contractor.
At the Wetheral Road branch in Owerri, Imo state, a restaurant operator, Maria Abangwu, confirmed the efficient performance of the bank’s channels since the conclusion of the system upgrade. She revealed that she was at the verge of closing her account with the bank when what she called the service revolution occurred.
Responses from Abuja, Ibadan, Uyo and Kano confirmed that GTBs services have been fully restored and that the banking Apps now function better than before.
Explaining the development, a senior official of the bank who would not want his name published as he lacked the authority of the bank to speak, said, “We changed our core banking application completely and it took some time to get services back to usual service levels. For example, for instant transfers, where there is a failure, instead of instant reversal, customers had to wait up to 24-48 hours on some cases.”
The official added, “All that has totally changed. Feedbacks we receive showed that our customers are happy with the new system because the services are quicker and hitch-free all through.”
Some social media reactions obtained on X included the following:
“Little wonder, I’ve also been getting alerts for my transfers.”
“It looks like GTBank’s service is now working well.”
“FIRS staff said they received their salary payments yesterday via REMITA, ahead of other banks.”
“My transfers have been working fine, GTBank is great again.”
This confirms the recent announcement by the bank that its digital banking channels are fully online, following the system upgrade. In a statement released on X, the bank reassured its customers that all branches across Nigeria had become operational and ready to serve.
The deft application of technology contributed to GTBank’s impressive performance in the third quarter ended September 30, 2024, where it recorded strong and impressive growth across all its key indicators, leading to the robust performance of the Group.
GTCO’s 2024 third-quarter results, showed that pre-tax profits rose to N215.69 billion, compared to N105.8 billion recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2023.
These third-quarter profits helped boost the financial holding company’s nine-month pre-tax profits to N1.2 trillion — the highest on record in the financial services sector, following the N1 trillion milestone achieved in the first half of the year.
The nine-month performance also enabled the bank to reach N1 trillion in profit after tax for the first time, making it the first bank to achieve this milestone.
Other impressive aspects of the results include net interest income which rose to N781.48 billion, marking a substantial 162.6% year-on-year increase.
This growth was driven by an increase in interest-earning assets or higher rates, allowing GTCO to benefit from a favorable interest environment.
This strong performance in net interest income highlights GTCO’s effective asset allocation strategy, which leaned towards fixed income securities amid rising interest rates.
Furthermore, net fee and commission income almost doubled to N158.55 billion, reflecting a 92.2 per cent year-on-year increase.
Analysts explain that the rise in fee-based revenue underscores GTCO’s diversification strategy, with income generated from non-interest sources such as credit-related fees and commissions, e-business income, account maintenance charges, transaction fees, ancillary banking charges, and other services.
The bank’s financial report filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited also indicated that total deposits rose to N11.24 trillion, for the first nine months, representing 49.4 per cent, up from N7.54 trillion in the corresponding period of 2023. This indicates the growing confidence of the public in the 75-year-old financial services institution. It also points to the success story of its customer-focused digital initiatives.
Nigerian banks have embarked on aggressive upgrades of their e-banking channels for maximum performance and enhanced revenue generation, which has created stiff competition among them.
Consequently, the banks have engaged in systems upgrade in recent times which created service disruptions to the consternation of the customers and other banks’ services users. In the past weeks, major Nigerian deposit money banks have experienced system downtime that stretched beyond what the public had expected, or is used to.
However, despite the prolonged and severe service disruptions, the exercise has not resulted in the loss of customers’ deposits or other assets maintained by the bank – traced directly to it.
The push for migration to new core systems is driven by multiple factors, including security, cost management, and operational flexibility. Industry experts explained that security concerns are a major reason for the upgrade. With cyber-attacks on the rise, banks are seeking more secure systems to protect customer data and financial information.
Sterling Bank customers were among the first to experience severe disruptions in September when the bank began migrating its core system from T24 to SEABaaS, a new locally developed banking application. This migration caused multiple transaction failures, frustrating customers who were unable to use the bank’s services for days.
In a similar move, GTBank recently transitioned from its Basis/Banks software, provided by ICS Financial Services, to Finacle, an Indian banking technology solution.
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
