(a) Managerial skills refer to the abilities and competencies that managers need to effectively perform their roles in an organization. In the context of a Ghanaian bank like Ecobank Ghana, these skills can be categorized into three main types: technical skills (expertise in specific tasks, such as using banking software for compliance reporting under the Bank of Ghana’s Cyber and Information Security Directive 2020), human skills (ability to work with and motivate people, like leading teams during high-pressure periods post the 2017-2019 banking cleanup), and conceptual skills (seeing the big picture, such as strategizing for resilience amid the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme impacts from 2022-2024). These skills evolve with managerial levels—lower managers rely more on technical, while top executives emphasize conceptual.

(b) Three managerial roles that can improve productivity in a bank include:

• Interpersonal roles: Acting as a leader to motivate staff, e.g., conducting regular team meetings to align on goals like increasing loan recovery rates.
• Informational roles: Serving as a monitor to gather and disseminate information, such as tracking BoG directives on liquidity risk to ensure timely compliance and avoid penalties.
• Decisional roles: Being a resource allocator to optimize budgets, for instance, prioritizing investments in digital banking tools to enhance efficiency post the Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019.

(c) Five common challenges bank managers face in the banking industry, particularly in Ghana, include:

• Regulatory compliance: Navigating stringent BoG requirements like the Corporate Governance Directive 2018, which demands robust board oversight; failure led to collapses like UT Bank in 2017. Solution involves continuous training and audits.
• Cybersecurity threats: With rising digital banking, managers combat risks under the Cyber and Information Security Directive 2020; examples include phishing attacks that could lead to data breaches, mitigated by investing in firewalls and employee awareness programs.
• Liquidity management: Post-DDEP (2022-2024), maintaining adequate liquidity per BoG’s Liquidity Risk Management Guidelines is tough amid economic volatility; managers use stress testing to forecast and build buffers.
• Talent retention: High attrition due to competitive markets; addressed by motivation strategies aligned with Basel III principles adapted for Ghana, like performance-based incentives.
• Economic uncertainty: Inflation and currency fluctuations affect profitability; managers employ scenario planning, drawing from the 2017-2019 cleanup where recapitalization was key for survival, as per BoG Notice No. BG/GOV/SEC/2023/05.