TTB Saga: Fifi Kwetey’s Wife Cleared

Even though top managers of The Trust Bank (TTB) paid themselves GH¢9.8million as redundancy package due to the takeover of the bank by Ecobank, Naomi Kwetey, wife of a deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning did not receive any payment, as earlier reported.

Daily Guide gathered that though the past board, headed by Daniel Kwabla-King, approved the redundancy package in August 2011 for the executive members and five heads of department who opted out of the merger, the current board, led by Samuel Ashittey Adjei, Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, is claiming that it did not authorize the payment.

The new board insisted that the executives should have first sought clearance from them before effecting the payments.

However, there were some communications between the outgoing Managing Director of TTB, Larry Yirenkyi-Boafo and Samuel Ashittey Adjei about the approved package as a document dated December 14, 2011 and available to DAILY GUIDE indicated.

In the document, only five heads of department who were 54 years and above, were entitled to GH¢2.67 million; and these were mentioned by the TTB board headed by Daniel Kwabla-King.

They were Leah Dickson, Head of Human Resources; Emmanuel Obeng Adjei, Group Head of ICT and E-Banking; Michael Yaw Barimah, Head of Foreign Operations; Robert Danso Boakye, Head of Domestic Operations and Charlotte Mate, Head of Credit Administration.

The other six executive committee members including the secretary were to share GH¢7.1 million, according to the terms of their contract with the bank.

The outgoing MD mentioned in the document that four, out of the five senior managers, confirmed their willingness to take the package while the fifth person was yet to make up his mind.

He told the board in the last meeting held in August 2011 that besides nearing the statutory retirement age, some heads of department performed specialized functions which would make their re-deployment difficult under the merger with Ecobank, and they therefore wanted a pay off.

Mrs. Naomi Kwetey, presently the Business Manager in charge of Institutional Banking at TTB since 2009 and once encumbered with the office of the Treasurer, Daily Guide has been told, did not pay the money on behalf of the top managers. She also neither benefited nor received GH¢1.2 million as alleged.

The transaction has however since been reversed, with the new board now demanding prior authorization for dealings beyond a certain threshold. Emelia Atta-Fynn, a member of the reconstituted board, has since been acting as the MD of TTB.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Ghana has begun investigations into the payment of the GH¢9.8million severance package to the 11 top management of TTB.