Monday, December 01, 2008

ETI lays foundation stone for its headquarters

Story: Boahene Asamoah

PRESIDENT Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe on Friday laid the foundation stone for the building of a $15 million head office complex of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), the Pan-African bank in Lome, Togo.
The ceremony comes on the heels of a landmark public offer and rights issue in Africa by ETI to raise $2.5 billion across Africa.
The function also attracted the Prime Minister, Mr Gilbert Fossoum Houngo, and several ministers of state and the Speaker of the Togolese Parliament.
Delivering an address at the ceremony, the Board chairman of the pan African bank, Mr Mande Sidibe, said the decision to build a permanent office in Lome was a demonstration of the bank’s commitment to continue to do business across Africa.
He said “the group has grown so well that it has outgrown its current clothes. That is why it has decided to equip itself with a modern and functional building.”
Mr Sidibe stated that the bank had over the past 20 years overcome various difficulties to become the first pan African bank with 25 subsidiaries, 600 branches, more than 10,000 employees of 29 nationalities, and offering varied financial and banking products.
The board chairman said the bank had also established the Ecobank Development Corporation in charge of wholesale banking and stock market intermediation.
Mr Sidibe added that the bank had also established the e-Process which is in charge of technologies and integrated system and other specialised structures to assist trading operations across the world.
“Ecobank will continue with its appropriate policies in terms of risk management and resource mobilisation, adding that “we will continue with our banking activities and the development of financial services for the benefit of Africans”, he stated.
Mr Sidibe commended past executives and the founding fathers of the bank as well as the Togolese authorities for their immense support.
The Togolese Minister of Commerce and Private Sector Promotion, Mr Guy Madje, commended the management and board members of the bank for the initiative to build a permanent office in Lome, and assured them of the government’s support.
“Making these four hectares of land available to ETI for their new headquarters reflects the Togolese government’s wish that staff of the group conduct their work in the best possible working environment.’’
The Minister of Finance and Economy, Mr Adji Oteh Ayassor, in his statement also commended the board and management of the bank for their effort to expand their operations across Africa, and stated that the government would continue to offer them support that would ensure further growth of the bank.
The new head office, located along the coast of Lome, when completed would overlook the Atlantic Ocean.
It would be a seven storey building office complex and would house an Information Technology Centre, a conference room, catering spots and entertainment facilities.
Later in that evening a dinner was held to honour the founding members as well as employees who had spent 20 years or more with the bank.
Guests were treated to a sneak preview of the bank’s new logo due to be officially launched in January.

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