This study seeks to ascertain and document the extent to which investment in IT by banks in Ghana can impact on their profitability using the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) framework. The study uses the extensive panel dataset of 15 banks sampled from the Ghanaian banking industry over a 10-year period (1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007). The study finds that banks which maintain high levels of investments in IT increased return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE).

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... rding to Levitt (1992) , technology presents itself as a powerful force that drives the world towards a converging commonality. From the beginning of human era, technology has been one of the most essential and most important factors for the development of mankind (Coombs et al., 1987) . Innovations in information processing, telecommunications, and related technologies -known collectively as "Information Technology" (IT) or sometimes Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) -is defined by Ige (1995) as the modern handling of information by electronic means, which involves its access, storage, processing, transportation or transfer and delivery. Langdon and Langdon, (2006) also define IT as a set of interrelated components that collect (or remove), process, store and distribute information to support decision making, co-ordination and control. IT also helps managers and workers to analyse problems, visualize complex subjects and create new products. IT including computer based information systems used by an organisation and their underlying technologies have propelled changes in the banking sector (Langdon and Langdon, 2006) . Technological innovation for that matter affects not just banking and financial services, but also the direction of an economy and its capacity for continual and sustainable growth. Most banking industry and development analysts assert that technological change is one of the important factors underlying the dynamics in the banking industry structure and performance today which leads to cost competitiveness and diversification into new lines of business to improve profitability, through strategic positioning and processes. In order to either sustain or enhance on their competitive advantage in an ostensibly growing industry, banking institutions invest fortune or substantial amounts in IT resources, which could also reveal new means of creating value for both the bank and the customer. However, expenditures that affect banks' ability to compete are usually discretionary. These expenditures are made to sustain or increase shareholder value through (1) a revenue growth strategy by expanding into new markets, new customers, products and services and (2) a productivity strategy whereby improvements are made in the cost structure and in asset utilization. Technology is being increasingly employed in service organisations to enhance customer service quality and delivery, reduce costs, and standardise core service offerings (Kelly134 et al., 2005). These tend to increase the profitability of banks marginally. The craze in the adoption of technologies like Internet, SMS, and ATM by banks of developing economies has been as a result of the desire to be above competition and the struggle for strategic market share, as the "cake is big, but the slices are smaller" as well as a means to manage their risk positions and pricing. At the same time, new off-the-shelf electronic services such as online retail banking are making it possible for very small institutions to take advantage of new technologies at quite reasonable costs. These developments have ultimately changed the competitive landscape in the financial services and also made it easier for foreign competitors to penetrate local markets. Studies about impact of IT investments on banks' business value and performance have received massive attention in Europe, the Americas and Asia with mixed results. Nevertheless, the focus on Africa and West Africa, for that matter, tends to be parsimonious in comparison with the theoretical and empirical evidences from the developed economies. Whether the level of investment done in IT actually brings real benefits to the banks, is still a matter of debate in academic circles. Researchers and practitioners have agreed to the fact that traditional analysis -focused only on financial or technological aspects -is not complete. Different alternative methods have been suggested to complement evaluation of IT investment. This paper contributes to the existing literature, by providing empirical evidence regarding the effects of IT investments on Bank business performance in Ghana. We believe our understanding of this subject as one of the early attempts to pave the way for further investigations by both industry and academia is apposite and would enable researchers, investors, management and IT managers to be able to deal with and justify the resources spent on technology, as well as plan, implement and evaluate IT strategies. The remainder of the paper is structured as follows; section 2 reviews some of the literature on the topic. Section 3 describes the methodology of the study. Section 4 shows the results, whilst section 5 gives a summary and conclusions of the study. 2. Literature Review 2.