The country's premier indigenous bank, GCB Bank, is celebrating its 65th anniversary with the launch of CSR projects across the country at a total cost of GH¢100,000.

The projects include the provision of theatre beds and lamps to the Winneba Municipal Hospital and the refurbishment of the Children and Maternity Wards at Akim Oda Government Hospital.

There will also be cladding and seating for the Baby Unit at Tema Polyclinic, construction of boreholes at the SDA Health Assistant Training School, Asanta in Axim, and the Community-Based Health and Planning (CHIPS) compound at Asufufu in the Sunyani Municipality.

The rest are donations of equipment to Social Welfare School at Ho, medical outreach at a selected market in Accra, painting of the Children’s Ward at the Tamale West Hospital and construction of a fence wall for Sefwi Asafo Nursing Training College in the Sefwi Wiawso Municipality.

Established in 1953 as the Bank of the Gold Coast, it was renamed Ghana Commercial Bank in 1957 when Ghana gained independence and Bank of Ghana was established as the central bank.

In 1996, the bank listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange, and in 2014, it rebranded from Ghana Commercial Bank to GCB Bank Limited to refresh its image and project a renewed sense of dynamism as it entered a new phase of its strategic growth.

In 2017, driven by the bank’s vision of being the leading bank in all the markets it operates through the provision of first-class banking solutions for customers and value for all stakeholders, GCB Bank acquired two indigenous banks, signifying the bank’s ambition and strong asset base.

Named Ghana’s Safest Bank in 2017 by Global Finance and one of eight safest banks in sub-Saharan Africa, GCB Bank’s strategic focus at inception was to provide banking services to Ghana, then an emerging nation, for socio-economic development by paying special attention to Ghanaian traders, business people and farmers, who could not elicit support from the expatriate banks.

Over the years, it has been the country’s major partner in driving socio-economic growth by partnering government to execute major initiatives.
In 2017, GCB Bank voted GH¢1 billion to support Ghana’s ‘One District, One Factory’ (1D1F) initiative and also established a dedicated business unit to provide advisory services to develop business proposals from prospective investors.

Commenting on the choice of CSR as the focal point for its 65th anniversary, the Managing Director of GCB Bank, Anselm Ray Sowah, stated that it was an act in line with GCB’s focus on consistently impacting society and changing lives.

“Our historical dictate was to help drive Ghana’s socio-economic transformation, and while we pursue our core mandate of providing expert financial solutions across the country, we are mindful of the need to assist with the transformation of the communities we operate in. These anniversary projects are just a few of the many projects we have undertaken this year and over the years,” he stated.

“We are also humbled by the support we have enjoyed from Ghanaians over the years, and these CSR initiatives are a way of expressing appreciation. We have set our sights on total market dominance through first-class banking services and we ask them to partner us as we scale even greater heights,” he added.

GCB’s banking operations are clustered into nine administrative zones across the country, and the bank is undertaking a CSR activity in each zone.

These projects were recommended by the respective zonal heads based on the immediate societal impact and are to be completed within 60 days.