Databank staff work from home due to threats by customers

Databank Financial Services Limited has asked all its workers to begin operating from home just like during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic due to circumstances beyond management’s control.

According to a letter to clients, the decision has been taken because some customers are running out of patience due to the inability to access their funds and are physically and verbally abusing staff.

The investment bank explains that the situation worsened following the launch of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme by the Minister of Finance, Kenneth Ofori-Atta, on Monday, December 5.

“Following the launch, activity on the secondary market has virtually come to a halt, making it impossible for us to access liquidity,” the letter said.

“This is because fund managers are expected to exchange all their existing bonds for the new ones being issued by the Government. However, if we are unable to trade the bonds we have, we are unable to access any cash to pay withdrawal requests.

“Therefore, our original two-week estimate for withdrawal requests has now been impacted.”

The directive to work from home for all staff takes effect on Thursday, December 22 until Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

“Many of our clients have tried to be patient with us as we wait for the Government to provide liquidity. For this, we are extremely grateful. However, there are several clients who have felt the need to abuse our staff physically and verbally, and also threaten their lives as well as their families. As such, we have no choice but to move to a work-from-home option.

“While our offices will be physically closed, we will continue to serve you and process transactions remotely, and all our digital channels will remain open just as we did during Covid. However, we cannot endanger the lives of staff by opening the office without any available liquidity.”

The bank is seeking the cooperation of clients and asking for patience in these “difficult times”.

“We are very hopeful the Financial Stability Fund or any other Fund that the Government may provide in the interim will provide much-needed relief for you and other investors.”