Speaking at the launch, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana International Bank, Dean Adansi, emphasised the importance of learning from the 65 years of the bank’s operations, which transcend beyond Africa and Europe.

Mr. Adansi further lauded the audacity of Dr. Nkrumah and his team to establish a bank in London just two years after gaining political independence. He said the 65-year-old bank has weathered the years in a resilient fashion.

“We can report that we have been flexible and innovative, sometimes going through painful growth periods to deliver sustainable performance. Case in point: the read outs from our Annual General Meeting today note that our bank is in the black, we are systemically significant across the continent, we uphold the highest standards of risk management and operational excellence, and we are recognised as THE Pan African Trade Bank,” he said.

He said the bank had repositioned itself to increase its support activities in corporate and institutional banking, retail and small business banking, and mitigate risks for importers, exporters, and suppliers in Ghana and other African countries. 

“We want people to think about GHIB in the future as a major provider of trade finance, a major correspondent bank, and as a bank that has an impact on the lives of people across markets,” Mr. Adansi said.  

He also said the bank would commit more to supporting the achievement of AfCFTA because GHIB sees the pact as one that would significantly promote intra-African trade. 

“It makes a lot of sense for that kind of cooperation to take place and tariffs and barriers to be broken down so there can be more trade, which will help create wealth across our markets,” he said. 

Dr. Ernest Addison, Chairman of the Board of Directors for GHIB, and Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), lauded the bank for evolving into a transnational banking institution with footprints across West and East Africa. 

“In 2023, for instance, GHIB intermediated over US$8 billion in payments for financial institutions in West Africa,” Dr. Addison said. 

He indicated that in Ghana, the bank has provided critical documentary collection services to the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD) over the last 25 years in support of the nation’s cocoa export business. 

The governor also stated that the philanthropic activities of the bank had helped alleviate hardship in rural communities, schools, hospitals, and other deprived areas of Ghanaian society. 

He encouraged the bank to continue to play a critical role in the transformation of trade in Africa and rise to greater heights in the coming years as the continent navigates through the challenges and complexities of the global financial markets.