News of Pro-credit selling off to Ecobank has scratched old wounds and customers are rushing to the various branches of Pro-credit to ask for an explanation and/or withdrawal of their savings.
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Stories of banks folding up aren’t new in Sierra Leone. “We have seen banks opening and closing up leaving us the customers in tears,” said Adama Sankoh, a trader. She deposited Le. 17 million with the National Development Bank in 2001 and few years later she rushed to the bank to withdraw Le. 5 million to travel to Ghana for medical treatment, only to realize that the bank ceased operation. Mr. Mustapha Lahai a carpenter saved since 1997 Le 10 million with the SALPOST Bank. When he needed part of the money in 2008 to furnish his newly built house at Allen Town, he heard on the radio that the bank had ceased operation. Many of these stories could be heard all across the country.
Even though the National Development Bank and SALPOST Bank are both public enterprises now listed for divestiture, private- run banks too have come and folded leaving similar sad experiences. The Barclays Bank (which can’t be accused of criminality) left Sierra Leone during the war years and Rokel Commercial Bank took over its operation. But the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) later came to be nicknamed Bank of Crooks and Criminals International because of the way it folded up. Such experiences have therefore left many traders and workers still believing in keeping money at home rather than going through the banking system.
Pro-Credit Bank began operating in Sierra Leone in 2007 and a few months thereafter, it has sold off to Ecobank without informing both staff and customers of such a development, leaving many suspicious therefore of a waiting disaster in terms of non-payment of end of service benefits and customers losing their savings in a country where a dollar a day better describes survival.
Ecobank sources claim the take over negotiations began in August 2009 and by November 2009 the deal was sealed between Pro-Credit a German bank and Ecobank a Pan African bank. But the unexplained aspect yet is what will be the fate of staff of Pro-credit in terms of layoffs and end of service benefits. Another move described as subversive is why the Pro-credit Bank has so far refused to discuss with the customers about the take over? With the take over deal becoming public, customers are shoving into the bank to withdraw their money. Sources within Pro-credit Bank said that almost all customers who visited the bank yesterday 1st March withdrew their savings. “We put in three hours beyond service hours,” one of the staff said.Â
Already close confidants of the Managing Director have disclosed that the Managing Director Andre Radloss together with his deputy Sarah Tsein is on moves to surreptitiously sneak out of the country as Ecobank staff would gradually takeover the administration of Pro-credit starting March 1st. The full takeover would be on April 1st Ecobank, sources said.
Signs of its inability to deposit Le 15 billion with the Central Bank had been noticed in the operation of Pro-Credit since July 2009. Pro-Credit renovated a structure in Waterloo for its banking operations but never opened it to date for banking services. In its branch at Kissy Road only one photocopier has been in working order for the past two months. Sometimes water is not even available in the Kissy Road Branch.
Even though the bank is known for hiring and firing staff within weeks, workers claim there have been massive sackings since September 2009 as a way of dodging the payment of service benefits to the workers.
Staff end of year party in 2008 was flooded with food and drinks but in December 2009 some staff members couldn’t get a bottle of drink and the party ended earlier than expected.
The most revealing was that the Head of Finance and Control Maria Dianco submitted a resignation letter on 1st February this year in lieu of one month notice. Past Saturday she sent a farewell email to all as she was heading on her homeward journey to Europe.
It has been the practice that every Thursday staff should dress in Red and White, the Pro-Credit colours. but that didn’t happen past Thursday as talk of the take over deal was already public.
Why Pro-credit failed?
“When the bank registered to operate in Sierra Leone, it moved staff members to its Academy in Frankfurt for periods ranging between 2 weeks to 6 months. The cost of training just one person runs into thousands of dollars. However most of these highly trained staff were sacked on their return to Sierra Leone. The whole idea of flying staff to Germany became a financial burden that yielded no returns. Mr. Aiah Sam a former employee of Pro-Credit spent months in Frankfurt only to be served with a letter few weeks on his return home that the bank cannot afford to retain him. Whatever the unexplained reason for the termination of his service, it’s not economically viable to train staff you cannot recuperate from their services money spent on their training.
Through frequent sackings, Pro-credit lost hundreds of millions as bad debt. In 2008 about Le. 2 billion was lost as bad debt. The bank had been giving out loans most of which the loan officers were aware of. With the frequent sackings of Loan Officers, loans that could have been recovered became bad debts. Â
Pro-credit is accused of encouraging mediocrity. Placing boot lickers with no academic standing among professionals is a common occurrence at Pro-Credit, a former employee claims. Gossiping, boot licking and the PULL HIM/HER DOWN (PHD) resulted in sackings that were not in the best interest of the Bank.
While these may not be all the reasons for Pro-Credit pulling out so soon, a Nigerian working for one of the foreign banks said if what has happened to the German Bank had been the case of a Nigerian Bank the Sierra Leone Press would have chased all Nigerians to their graves.
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