Mr Bedu-Addo, who is also the first Ghanaian to have assumed that enviable position, will also be stepping down from some of his other affiliations to enable him to take up a new role in the bank.

These affiliations include chairman, Ghana Stock Exchange Council; vice chairman, Ghana Fixed Income Market; vice-president, Ghana Association of Bankers, among other responsibilities.

This follows his appointment as CEO of the Southern Africa Region comprising Mauritius, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Angola and South Africa. The appointment is subject to regulatory approval.

According to a release issued in Accra, “Mr Bedu-Addo has worked for the Standard Chartered Group for over 16 years, six of which he was the CEO for Ghana. In October 2015, he was appointed CEO for the West Africa 2 cluster comprising Ghana, Sierra Leone and The Gambia.”

“Prior to becoming CEO, Mr Bedu-Addo was a Managing Director in the Wholesale Bank Division of the Standard Chartered Bank Group during which he worked in several countries, including Zambia, Singapore and across West Africa with responsibilities in origination, coverage and project management,” it added.

He has previously headed the bank's Corporate Banking business across West Africa (excluding Nigeria). He has also headed a multimillion-dollar global project based in Singapore and prior to that, headed the bank's corporate banking business in Zambia. He worked in the Policy Division of Ghana's Finance Ministry in the 1990s.

Commenting on his appointment, the release quoted Mr Bedu-Addo as saying: "It has been both a great privilege and a big responsibility as the first Ghanaian to be entrusted with the affairs of the bank in its 120 years presence in Ghana. I move on to a bigger responsibility, confident that I am leaving behind a strong institution that will continue to facilitate wealth creation and economic growth in Ghana. I thank all stakeholders for their support and cooperation during my tenure."

The Board Chairman of Standard Chartered Bank Ghana, Mr Ishmael Yamson, also said: "It’s been a delight working with Kweku Bedu-Addo. He is a well-respected and highly regarded professional and we wish him all the best in his new expanded role elsewhere on the continent. "