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Standard Chartered Gets New Show Room

Nov 20, 2009, 11:28 AM | Article By: Bakary Samateh

Standard Chartered Bank The Gambia recently inaugurated a brand state-of-the-art dealing room, at a colourful ceremony held at its main office in Banjul.

The Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Bamba Saho and Standard Chartered Bank's CEO, Mr. Humphrey Mukwereza, formally commissioned the new dealing room. The complex is built at a tune of USD100, 000.

This development is another sign of the bank's continuous investment in The Gambia.

The infrastructure will allow the bank to provide its customers with real time global macroeconomic and local indicators, which will include interest rates, exchange rates and commodity prices.

It will also ensure that Standard Chartered The Gambia provides value-added products, such as commodity and derivatives hedging, which will ensure that the bank's customers mitigate their risk and increase their rewards.

The dealing room is also equipped with the online dealing platform (OLT3), where the customers will be able to conclude foreign exchange transactions from the comfort of their offices.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Bamba Saho, the Governor of Central Bank stated that a modern dealing room is a key component of the infrastructure necessary for successful international treasury operations. As he put it, robust trading systems give investors confidence, which is a top priority in the current environment.

Governor Saho pointed out that "the new dealing room will support the bank's global financial markets business, enhance our financial market's proposition across Africa, increase operational efficiency, and enable the bank in The Gambia to operate with international treasury-dealing standards.

He asserted that the consistent provision of high quality products and information to customers is what The Gambia needs to ensure returns on investments.

"The Government of the Republic of The Gambia, through the Central Bank, will continue to ensure that The Gambia continues to operate financial systems in line with global standards," he assured.

Speaking earlier, Standard Chartered Bank's Managing Director and CEO Mr. Humphrey Mukwereza, said that new facilities have put the bank's system at par with global treasury operations standards, an opportunity that they would readily seize.

He said "Standard Chartered's continued investment in our systems, infrastructure and people in The Gambia is a real sign of its confidence in the long-term resilience of the Gambian economy and of the confidence they have in our business and franchise in West Africa."

The Head of Wholesale Banking, Bai Mass Saine stated that as the leading international bank in the country, Standard Chartered Bank will continue to lead the way in the financial services sector by providing innovative products and solutions.

Madam Kumba Janneh, the Head of Corporate and Legal Affairs, attended the occasion at the Standard Chartered Bank, and many other dignitaries.

Mrs. Awa Njie of the bank's Corporate Affairs chaired the landmark ceremony.