Trust Bank clocks 10

Trust Bank Gambia Limited entered the country’s banking industry in 1997; a time when the industry was at its infancy in terms of growth and competitiveness.

A few years after its emergence on the banking landscape of the country, TBL, as the bank is widely known, earned itself a commanding position as a major player in the country’s banking market, injecting innovation and highly competitive services that endeared it to many as the ‘number one bank’ of the Gambian populace. Besides a record 11 branches in the country, which confirms its aggressive marketing strategies, TBL now ranks as the country’s most profitable bank and has repeated this achievement in 2003, 2004 and 2006.

In this exclusive interview with the man behind the scenes, Pa Macoumba Njie, TBL’s managing director gives an insight of what it has taken them to reach where they are today.

Trust Bank Ltd is 10 years this year. How did it start?

Trust Bank Ltd opened for business on October 1st 1997 by taking over the assets and liabilities of Meridien BIAO, which had been in operation in The Gambia since 1992. The shareholding was in the hands of institutional investors (both local and foreign), individuals and employees of the bank.

The private sector capital was driven by the huge potential that the bank is believed to have and the confidence in the management team at inception.

Where can you be found?

Trust Bank is in Banjul, Bakau, Basse, Brikama, Farafeni, Latrikunda, Kololi, Serekunda, Soma, Westfield & Yundum. We are on the verge of opening our 12th branch, which is located in Bakoteh.

What would you say have been TBL`s achievements over the years?

Trust Bank started with four branches and today we operate at 11 (soon to be 12), widely dispersed locations all over the country and currently employ about 240 staff made up entirely of Gambians.

In 2002 we got listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange which was the first cross-border listing of any bank in this country.TBL has been the most profitable bank in The Gambia in 2003, 2004 and 2006. This is no mean feat considering the environment we are operating in. Our contribution to Health, Sport and Education is both exemplary and legendary.

We have paid over D250 million to the Income Tax Department in the last 10 years, which in my view is the ultimate corporate responsibility. TBL has contributed immensely in every sector of our economy, always with the Government Vision 2020 and MDGs in mind. Along the way the bank has won numerous awards both locally and internationally namely: GCCI Banker of the Year for 2002 & 2004; The Banker Magazine (Financial Times subsidiary) Banker of the Year for The Gambia 2003, 2004 and 2005; The prestigious award for best Emerging Market Bank by Global Finance 2005, 2006 & 2007.

What in your view gives TBL a competitive advantage in the banking sector in The Gambia?

Our competitive advantage is that Trust Bank Ltd is quintessentially a Gambian bank and that our customers and potential customers recognise this fact. As said earlier TBL is by far the most accessible bank in the country with 12 locations. The advantage of this is that being everywhere means you are in a better position to understand the needs of the market. In banking you cannot establish needs and wants of your customers without being where they are.

We have a management team with an extensive local and international knowledge and experience. We have a local board of directors, which makes decision-making and consultations a lot quicker. The bank is unique in the sense that decision-making, planning and execution is all handled by Gambians.  Our success is all down to Gambians. There is no bank that is as deeply involved in every sector of our economy as Trust Bank.

What products and services does the bank offer?

The bank offers Personal Banking Services, Corporate Banking, International Trade Finance and Western Union Services, served with a traditional Gambian hospitality and smile.

What impact has the bank on the socio-economic development of The Gambia?

Trust Bank is the leading financier of the groundnut-marketing sector in The Gambia, which is a backbone of our economy. We are also involved in tourism, which is also very important in the socio-economic development of our country.

We are also deeply involved in the construction industry and participated in the construction of AU villas last year. We participate immensely in the financing of small and medium enterprises (SMEs)  Through the services we offer and donations periodically made, we are always committed to support female empowerment by giving grants and offering competitive interest rates for advances. TBL was and continues to be the home of SMEs.

What is your assessment of customer involvement in the bank’s development?

The bank’s basic tenet is focussed on customer needs and wants and this is the driving force behind everything we do at Trust Bank.

An additional factor for the success of any institution lies in its people. What can you say about the bank staff?

Trust Bank Ltd is the largest employer in the banking sector in The Gambia. We have a staff strength of about 250, 18 of which are managerial positions and 24 are Supervisory/middle management positions.

We attach great importance in providing them with a comfortable and safe working environment, give adequate and targeted training to improve competence and provide various benefits to ensure supreme performance.

What are the future plans of the bank?

As has been communicated earlier, our efforts are towards bringing banking to the doorsteps of every customer. We will very soon open our 12th branch in the Bakoteh area and hope to open more in the very near future.

We also aim to provide convenience banking to our customers and in this regard more products and services have been introduced to facilitate and ease banking transactions. Recently we launched an online banking service which gives customers the ability to access their accounts from anywhere in the world. Customers can also transfer funds between accounts anytime of the day.

We are at a very advanced stage in developing exciting technology based products and services. What activities would TBL engage in to commemorate its 10th anniversary? By way of saying a big thank you to our esteemed customers and dedicated staff and to celebrate our achievements, we will be engaging in a series of activities to commemorate the 10th anniversary of TBL.

We will be starting off with the official opening of our newest and 12th branch at Bakoteh. The new branch is in line with the TBL’s objective of bringing banking to the doorstep of every Gambian. This new branch will certainly ease accessibility for the communities in the area and also reduce congestion and waiting time at our Serekunda branches.

As part of our corporate social responsibility to the health sector, TBL decided to use this occasion to refurbish the sanatorium, which was in a deplorable state. The need for the control and cure of communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis, a major concern for all, had motivated the TBL to involve itself in creating a better living environment for the patients in this hospital. The Sanatorium was fully refurbished at a tune of D2.2 million. The official opening and handing over of keys to the health authorities will be part of the activities to mark the anniversary. Again in fulfilment of our corporate responsibility and cognisant of the fact that children are our future, the bank has constructed a multi-purpose playground for the children of SOS village in Bakoteh by way of contributing toward their healthy development. These sporting facilities, which include a basketball lawn and a volleyball court, is put there to attract the youth to the centre so that they can access the library which provides information on HIV/AIDS and sensitise them on disease prevention.

In our endeavour to fulfill the Government’s aim of alleviating poverty as stated in Vision 2020 and the Millennium Development Goals, we embarked on a Humanitarian Caravan in 2002. Through our collaboration with Western Union and other partners such as the Department of Social Welfare and other humanitarian and faith based organisations, an amount of D100,000 was given out to 1000 needy people as working capital to enable them start up small petty trading.

In this year’s caravan, we will be engaged in sensitising the public about our different banking products and services. There will be a lot of surprises in store during this carnival.

Next week, TBL will launching a series of exciting giveaways in the form of raffle draws amounting to close to D1M. This will be just another way of saying thank you to our esteemed customers.

Major donations will be made to core sectors, such as educational institutions, sporting organisations, health institutions, community based organisations and the Department of State for the Interior. These donations will also be extended to the provinces through our branches in Soma, Farafenni and Basse. This is intended to showcase the bank to the public to prove that we are not only interested in making profits but also in giving back to the community.

All these achievements and support could not have been possible without the diligence and commitment of our staff. In order to honour this dedicated team and express our gratitude, the bank has a huge surprise for them that will be communicated in due course.