Sierra Leone Commercial Bank, the People’s Bank was established by an act of Parliament 48 years ago. During these past 48 years, the bank has gone through many changes including surviving a brutal 10 year civil war, and is still standing strong. The bank currently is the largest commercial bank in the nation with 300,000+ customers. As one of the leading commercial banks in the country, SLCB is constantly evolving, particularly with our decision in recent years to embrace the FINTECH agenda where we are targeting customers with robust banking services via digital means.
Solid Performance Overall, our growth has been steady and we have withstood many challenges along the way and still continue to perform strongly in the market place. Thanks to you the devoted and hardworking staff, the bank continues to perform solidly against the competition and providing our customers with robust services that are second to none in the industry.
This past year brought its own set of challenges with the COVID-19 global pandemic. We have managed to stay afloat amidst the deterioration in the global economy as well as our national economy due to this unforgiven pandemic. As we overcame the challenges over the past years, so we will also overcome these and any new challenges that we might face in the future with togetherness and camaraderie, with passion and hard work, with focus and strategic thinking and planning, and above all, with a sense of ownership and pride in being part of one family, the SLCB family.
As we celebrate this year’s anniversary, while not forgetting our past, let us put our focus on our successes and the strives that we have made so far to earn us the reputation of being the largest commercial bank in the country. Let us continue to deliver immense value to all of our stakeholders and partners including you our staff. This celebration is for all of us to enjoy and be proud of the work that we have done to keep the torch burning brightly that was passed down to us from our predecessors along the way.
Let us endeavor to always put this wonderful institution first so that we continue to expand the envelope of our footprint and services across our country and even beyond. Not forgetting to continue to raise the bar and set new standards and heights for others to follow.
Banking has advanced tremendously over the years from the conventional banking that many of us started with. As such, let’s cherish the moment and embrace the technological opportunities as we forge forward into the new age. This calls for flexibility and adaptation in our thought process, and the willingness to become part of a larger community of banks world wide that have embraced new ways of doing business. Let us continue to innovate strategically, forge new partnerships and conquer new markets as we move forward.
Conclusion
In concluding, I want to thank you all for all your hard work in keeping the bank going during our time. I encourage you all to continue to give of your very best so that we too can pay it forward to those that may come after us and leave them a solid performing institution just like our predecessors once did. Our potential is limitless and we all have our part to play.
Thank you all once again for all the hard work and I look forward to your continued support as we keep on with the good work.
ABDULAI FIDELIS TURAY MANAGING DIRECTOR