The Managing Director of GCB Bank PLC, Kofi Adomakoh, has called on stakeholders to help position the bank as the anchor financial institution for Ghana in order to leave a legacy for future generations.
He said the GCB Bank of yesterday must now evolve in line with the evolution of global markets.
"Banking has changed significantly; it has been rudely disrupted by technology and innovation, and your Bank for Life must follow suit.
"We must also take advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and ensure that through GCB, we do not miss out as a country on this 1.5 billion single market," he said.
Mr Adomakoh said this at GCB Bank's 70th Anniversary Awards and Gala Night dubbed “The GCB of tomorrow in a contemporary and technology-driven banking industry”.
The event in Accra was attended by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; the First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo; the Minister of State at the Ministry of Finance, Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr Ernest Addison.
Others were the First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Maxwell Opoku-Afari; the Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Elsie Addo Awadzi; the Chancellor, University of Cape Coast, Sir Sam Jonah, and some industry players.
Mr Adomakoh said his outfit was poised to scale up the financial assistance it rendered to Ghanaian businesses.
That decision, he explained, would grow businesses for them to expand beyond the shores of Ghana.
"We are seeking to show more resilience in our ability to grow African champions in our country by supporting Ghanaian businesses to explore beyond the shores of Ghana," Mr Adomakoh said.
He further stated that over the years, the bank had strategically increased investment in the retail business.
"We successfully cater to our discerning retail customers through our widely distributed branch network and innovative digital channels," he said.
Additionally, he said, a decade from now, GCB intended to be a bank driven by technology, enabling its millions of customers to transact and make payments, investments, and savings from their mobile phones and electronic devices.
That, he said, was a matter of time that Africa would be left for Africans to build, operate and own.
"And GCB must be at the forefront of the banking industry to take advantage of this," Mr Adomakoh said.
Nonetheless, Mr Adomakoh acknowledged that the success of GCB in the future would depend on its depth of resilience, judicious deployment of capital, and the capacity of human resources.
“We will continue to invest in developing talents and provide the required leadership, exposure and opportunity to grow them, for it is our people who have brought the bank this far and will take us into the future," Mr Adomakoh said.
He expressed gratitude to shareholders, past and current Board, management, staff, regulators, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Ghana Stock Exchange for how far the bank has come.