US Citi Bank to start operations in Ghana

An American Bank, Citi Bank, will soon make an entrance into Ghana’s banking sector as it seeks to obtain full banking license to commence operations in Ghana.

The Chief Executive Officer of Citi Bank for Africa, Naveed Riaz who is on a visit to Ghana mentioned this when he paid a courtesy call on Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur at the Flagstaff House in Accra on Tuesday.

The Vice President noted that Citi Bank’s entrance into the Ghanaian banking market would help raise standards in the industry.

The bank would be the first US bank in Ghana and according to the Vice President, their physical presence in the country would send the right signals to the US and the rest of the world to engage more with Ghana and partner her in the nation’s accelerated development drive.

Mr. Amissah-Arthur gave assured investors in the banking sector that Ghana had done a lot through anti-money-laundering legislation and terrorism, and created a safer environment for business in the banking sector.

Mr Riaz also mentioned that the bank had operations in 16 African countries, and was very much interested in entering Ghana after it had completed doing the necessary paperwork. He added that there was a lot of goodwill out there for Ghana.

An aide to the Vice President, James Agyenim Boateng who briefed journalists after the meeting revealed that the American bank for the past 10 years has been engaged in the financing of operations of COCOBOD, the Volta River Authority (VRA) and the oil and gas industry.

He said the Citi Bank had committed a significant amount of capital to the operations of COCOBOD.

After meeting with the Vice President, Mr Riaz, will also meet top officials of the Bank of Ghana and some Ministers of State.