By A. Kapini Atafori
Republic Bank (Ghana) PLC, a subsidiary of Republic Financial Holdings Limited (RFHL) of Trinidad & Tobago, is building a strong African brand in order to serve its customers in a better way.
In a statement to mark African Union (AU) Day which falls on 25th May, Republic Bank Ghana, a leading universal banking institution in Ghana and arguably the most diversified financial institution, said the bank was making its presence in Africa being felt by the business community.
“As a one-stop financial institution, our services include corporate, commercial and retail banking; investment banking; mortgage banking, custody services, trust management and microfinance.
“We understand that banking is not a repeat purchase of our services by our customers, but a development process where we provide services by appreciating our customers’ needs and building deeper and more effective customer relationships.
“Having this as the thrust of our business, we provide innovative products that cut across our varied customer base.
“Our parent company, RFHL, is the largest and most profitable independent bank in the English-speaking Caribbean, having served the region for over 180 years. As of the end of the 2021 financial year, the total asset of the group stood at USD$16.5 billion. RFHL has played a significant role in the oil and gas sector development in Trinidad and Tobago, particularly in developing local content,” the statement said.
It further noted: “Republic Bank, a bank built with African blood, flourishing at the coast of the Caribbean, dreamt of coming back to Africa. The dream is to establish and build an African brand. We took the bold step in 2012 when Republic Bank formed a strategic partnership with the then HFC Bank, and by 2018 we had firmly established our presence in Ghana by rebranding to Republic Bank.
“Like other groups in Trinidad and Tobago, Africans have left an indelible mark on our society, contributing to the rich cultural diversity and shaping our nation of Trinidad and Tobago.
“It is our love for Africanism that accounted for the adoption and maintenance of the African Union Square, popularly known as AU Square, located at the Independence Avenue, Ridge in Accra. The refurbished AU Square was inaugurated on Friday, January 28, 2022.”
According to Mr Farid Antar, the Chief Executive Officer of the bank, one of the objectives of the AU is to “promote peace, security and stability on the continent”. He said among the AU’s principles is “peaceful resolution of conflicts among member States of the union through such appropriate means as may be decided upon by the assembly”.
Mr Antar said, like the African Union, our vision as a bank is “to establish an African presence headquartered in Ghana”.
“No better place for Republic Court to be situated than near the iconic Africa Union Square. Whenever we look across the street, we just do not see AU Square, we see hope, our African dream. And in pursuit of this dream, we have adopted the AU Square for greening, maintenance and beautification,” he said.
Republic Bank takes pride in its rich African origin and, therefore, seeks to expand it wings not only in Ghana but also in other African countries, with Ghana being the head office of the African territories.
