Kudos to Standard Chartered

Standard Bank has been named Best Emerging Market Bank in Africa, and in The Gambia in Global Finance magazine's annual awards, a press release issued by the bank stated.

This is the second consecutive year that Standard Chartered Bank Africa has topped the tables with Global Finance. Additionally, Standard Chartered Bank also won 'Best Emerging Market Bank' in Botswana (for the fifth consecutive year), and in Zambia (also for the fifth consecutive year).  

Winners are nominated by Global Finance editors, industry analysts, corporate executives and technology experts, based on specific criteria, including transaction volumes, market share, scope of global coverage, customer service, competitive pricing and innovative technologies.

Commenting on the win, CEO Humphrey Mukwereza of the Standard Chartered Bank The Gambia, said: "We are delighted to have won this prestigious award for the second year in succession. Across our 14 African markets, Standard Chartered is a highly respected, well-established "household name", combining deep-rooted local knowledge and experience with international expertise and capabilities. Africa is very much core to our business activities and strategy. We continue to differentiate our brand and have confidence in our strategy for long-term, sustainable growth."

The award follows Standard Chartered’s record income and profit growth in 2009 across Africa, driven by an exceptional performance in its business. This is the 17th year that Global Finance has selected top banking performers in emerging markets.

The full report covers the best banks in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

We urge all banks in the country, including Standard Chartered to even work harder in this challenging environment for the banking industry.

The survival of any bank, including yours depends on the quality of services you provide to your esteemed customers, which of course cannot be achieved without putting in place appropriate policies and competent staff.

We also urge our financial institutions to consider reducing their lending percentage to enable small-scale businesses to also grow and survive. The interest rate of loans given by our commercial banks has been a cause for concern for many, and as a result we appeal that the banks revisit their policies.

Maintaining shareholders' confidence would also help our banks and financial institutions.

We commend our banks for surviving the recession during the global economic crisis, despite all the challenges confronting them in the industry.