HFC Bank Ghana, a subsidiary of Republic Financial Holdings Limited was a recipient of an award for Exceptional Diaspora Investment in Ghana at the prestigious Diaspora African Forum Excellence Awards Dinner.
The Award is in recognition of the Republic Financial Holdings Limited of Trinidad and Tobago’s investment in HFC Bank Ghana. The award was presented to the Bank by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta.
Receiving the Award, the Managing Director of HFC Bank, Mr. Robert Le Hunte expressed the Bank’s gratitude to the Organisers, Diaspora African Forum for the Award and the Government of Ghana for the Diaspora Homecoming Summit initiative. In his brief remarks, Mr. Robert Le Hunte recounted the history of over 60 million Africans who were forcefully removed from the land of their birth and transferred primarily to the Caribbean to work under inhumane conditions. In his view, he and the other Caribbean citizens currently working at HFC Bank represent the descendants of these fellow Africans. According to the Managing Director, their return is one that has been encouraged and foretold by a number of prominent individuals such as Marcus Garvey, George Padmore, Kwame Nkrumah, just to name a few.
Republic Bank’s investment of US$100 million in HFC Bank represents one of the largest single investments by a diaspora country back into Africa and signifies the confidence that the Bank has in the stability and future prospects of the Ghanaian economy. He also mentioned that following the heels of the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago’s visit to Ghana last year, a trade mission from the Caribbean will be visiting Ghana in September 2017 which will further deepen the investment and trade climate among Ghana and the diaspora countries of the Caribbean.
The Award dinner was attended by both the President and Vice President of Ghana together with their spouses, Ministers of State, Members of the diplomatic Corps and Diasporans in Ghana. The dinner was part of the Diaspora Homecoming Summit and in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Diaspora African Forum.
Republic Financial Holdings Limited is the largest and most profitable independent Bank in the English-speaking Caribbean, with assets in excess of US$10 billion and a history that spans over 180 years in banking. The Bank has a Standard and Poor rating of BBB+. Republic Financial Holdings Limited became the majority shareholder in HFC Bank in May 2015 after a successful mandatory takeover. The Bank’s vision is to grow HFC Bank to a regional institution headquartered in Ghana.
