Republic Financial Holdings Limited Honours Otumfuo With Special Luncheon
A special luncheon was held by the Board of Directors and leadership of Republic Financial Holdings Limited (RFHL), the parent company of Republic Bank {Ghana} PLC, in honour of the King of the Asante Kingdom, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and his entourage in Trinidad and Tobago.
The business lunch held at their headquarters in the twin island country had in attendance the financial giant’s Board Chairman, Mr Vincent Pereira, the President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr Nigel Baptiste and top management members.
It took place on Thursday, August 3, 2023, and the discussions centred on plans for their subsidiary in Ghana- which is focused on universal banking specifically in investment banking, mortgage banking and microfinance.
In a speech, Otumfuo called for diversification in their operation for economic development.
He said “When I first met a delegation that came to meet me some years ago in the process of establishing Republic Bank and also when they took over from HFC, I knew they were going to go into Real Estate and mortgages and all those things” and registered his objection.
He recalled telling the delegation at the time, “Take note, I don’t want you to fall into the trap of universal banking.”
This stance by His Majesty still holds as he urged the leadership to wrought some changes and focus on providing financial assistance to farmers and growing the agricultural sector of Ghana.
“It doesn’t help,” he noted. “Long-term financing for trade, no. I want a bank that will inure to the benefit of the country in terms of development: which will go into agriculture, processing, adding value, {and} import substitution. That is what I am looking for to grow the economy.”
He continued, “I want us to change the narrative and the dynamics and the narration. So Chief Executive and Board I want to see it when I get to Ghana. I’m saying it here because this is your headquarters.”
About Republic Bank {Ghana} PLC
Formerly HFC Bank in Ghana, the Republic Bank {Ghana} PLC was established in 1990 and was licensed by the Bank of Ghana as a universal bank in 2003. In 2015, the Bank was taken over as a subsidiary of RFHL based in Trinidad and Tobago and got rebranded in 2018 as Republic Bank.
The RFHL’s subsidiaries across the world also include Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited, Republic Bank (Barbados) Limited, Republic Bank (Grenada) Limited, Republic Bank (Suriname) N.V., Cayman National Corporation, Republic Bank (EC) Limited, Republic Bank (Anguilla) Limited, Republic Bank (St. Maarten) N.V., Republic Bank (BVI) Limited as well as Republic Wealth Management Limited and among others.
According to the financial group, its asset base stood at US$16.3 million as of 2021 and declared a net profit after tax and non-controlling interest of US$195.8 million.
It currently employs more than 6,058 staff in 23 subsidiaries operating in 14 countries.
