Ghana International Bank (GHIB) today announced a strategic collaboration with Vista Bank Group at the CNVERGE ’25 conference, establishing a comprehensive partnership to enhance trade finance access across West African markets and strengthen intra-African banking cooperation.

The partnership, formalized through a signing ceremony in London, positions GHIB as the primary correspondent banking partner for Vista Bank Group’s operations across Gambia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, and Guinea.

The collaboration will leverage GHIB’s established global banking relationships to provide Vista Bank’s clients with enhanced access to international trade finance solutions and cross-border payment services.

“This partnership represents a tangible expression of our commitment to building Africa’s financial infrastructure,” Dean Adansi, Chief Executive Officer of GHIB said during the event.

“This partnership represents a tangible expression of our commitment to be Africa’s bridge to international finance and correspondent banking. We provide African Banking Groups like VISTA with the critical access for funding, international trade finance, and global payments that allow for expansion and growth. We have kept faith in providing this access to Africa since 1959, and are honored to now deliver the same to the VISTA Group,” Mr. Adansi added.

Vista Bank Group, through Vista Group Holding SA, operates as a pan-African financial services organization focused on building world-class banking capabilities while contributing to economic and financial inclusion across Africa. The group maintains strategic operations in multiple West African markets, with particular strength in small and medium enterprise banking, trade finance, leasing services, and bancassurance products.

Under the partnership framework, GHIB will provide Vista Bank Group with correspondent banking services, international credit line access, and sophisticated trade finance instruments.

This ‘TradeBridge’ approach enables Vista Bank’s clients, particularly small and medium enterprises, to access global markets through established international banking relationships that have historically been difficult for regional African banks to secure independently.

“Ghana International Bank has become our gateway to the global financial system. Where other international banks have been unable to provide the access we need, GHIB has demonstrated genuine commitment to African development through practical banking solutions. This partnership enables us to serve the backbone of African economies—the SMEs in Banjul, Dakar, Freetown, Ouagadougou, and Conakry—with world-class trade finance capabilities,” the Managing Director of Vista Bank France, Serge Raymond said at the signing ceremony.

The collaboration addresses critical market gaps in African trade finance, where regional banks have traditionally faced barriers in accessing international credit lines and correspondent banking services. Through GHIB’s established global relationships, Vista Bank Group clients will gain access to letters of credit, trade guarantees, foreign exchange services, and international payment processing capabilities essential for participating in global commodity markets.

Vista Group Holding SA has built its strategy around maximizing opportunities in respective markets through innovative banking and insurance products, with particular focus on MSME banking, women-focused financial services, trade and supply chain finance, and bancassurance solutions. The organization aims to become the financial institution of choice in its operational markets while maintaining efficient cost structures and effective risk management protocols.

The partnership aligns with GHIB’s broader continental expansion strategy, building on established market presence in Ghana, Gambia, and Guinea to support financial integration across Africa. GHIB’s approach emphasizes continental unity, rejecting traditional Francophone-Anglophone divisions in favor of comprehensive African market development.

“At GHIB, we recognize no artificial divisions within Africa. This partnership with Vista Bank Group demonstrates that African financial institutions can collaborate effectively across linguistic and cultural boundaries to create sophisticated banking solutions that serve our continent’s development priorities,” Mr. Adansi.

The collaboration will be implemented through GHIB’s existing infrastructure, utilizing the bank’s correspondent relationships with major international financial institutions to provide Vista Bank Group clients with seamless access to global trade finance markets. Initial services will include trade finance facilitation, cross-border payments, foreign exchange services, and credit line access, with additional capabilities to be developed based on market demand.

The announcement was made during CNVERGE ’25, GHIB’s flagship conference focused on “Rethinking Commodity Finance for Growth,” which brings together key stakeholders across African trade finance, commodity markets, banking, and policy development. The partnership serves as a practical demonstration of the collaborative approaches to African financial development discussed throughout the conference.

Both institutions expect the partnership to contribute significantly to trade finance capacity building across West Africa while supporting the broader objectives of African economic integration and financial inclusion.

The collaboration creates a foundation for enhanced intra-African trade facilitation and positions both institutions as leaders in pan-African banking cooperation.