ECOBANK Launches US$2.5bn Regional Offer

Investing in a developing country should be seen as a way of investing in local people and the development of their expertise. One major advantage of this small but tiny West African country of The Gambia is that the banking industry has and continues to show a steady improvement in the economic growth, thanks to ECOBANK Gambia Limited, the Pan African Bank.

Since joining the country's banking industry, ECOBANK has spared no efforts to translate its slogan of the Pan African Bank into reality through a policy of continuous capital investment and aggressive expansion programmes.

Having carefully segmented its market towards meeting the demands of its rapidly growing customers, ECOBANK on Monday 25th August 2008 launched a US$2.5bn combined Rights Issue and Public Offer.

Seen as not just the largest offer on the continent but also the first simultaneous cross border public offering in Africa, the Ecobank's Transnational Incorporated (ETI), will give opportunities for people to invest and buy shares into Ecobank.

According to Mr Fitzgerald Odonkor, Managing Director ECOBANK Gambia Limited, to be able to put an offer of this magnitude is an indication that the bank is on top of the ladder in the country's financial industry.

He made this observation at a press conference held yesterday at the bank's head office along

He added that the ETI expansion plan includes the opening of new subsidiaries and branches in other countries in the Middle East as well as representative offices and international banking facilities in the major financial centres that have substantial trading links with Africa.

The offer, he noted, would no doubt have a positive effect on the bank's operations in The Gambia thus positioning itself as the leading bank not only in the country but Africa in general.

"We would see a lot more development on our operations in The Gambia and by extension the deepening of the country's financial sub sector," he said.

The ECOBANK boss also added that proceeds of the offer would be utilised to strengthen Ecobank's growth plans to expand its network of branches in the countries where it currently operates as well as expand into new countries thereby consolidating its position as the leading Pan African banking group.

He also assured the general public of his bank's continuous quality service delivery which, he added, has always been on top of the bank's priorities.

Incorporated in 1985, ECOBANK has remained at the forefront of service innovation, customer service improvements and good corporate social responsibility, which have been key to the strong growth of the nation's socio-economic development for the past years.

After so many years since it pioneered financial service delivery in almost all part of the globe, ECOBANK Gambia Limited has today earned the respect of majority of the banking public and gained recognition for the leadership role it continues to play in the country's financial sector.