Ray Sowah appointed MD of Ghana Commercial Bank
A seasoned banker and lawyer, Mr Anselm Raymond Sowah, has been appointed by the Board of Directors of GCB Bank Limited (GCB) as Managing Director of the bank. He replaces Mr Ernest Mawuli Agbesi who resigned as MD of GCB Bank last week.
A release issued by the bank in Accra last Monday said, “Mr Sowah was a banker in the City of London for 30 years and worked extensively in the erstwhile Ghana Commercial Bank London Branch, Ghana International Bank London and Bank of Montreal Capital Markets, London.”
“He is a commercially astute Business Banker and Lawyer with a consistent record of success in optimising the market, revenue, profit and service performance of organisations operating in a challenging environment,” it added.
The release said Mr Sowah has held senior management positions in Compliance, International Trade Finance, Retail Banking, Business Development and in the UK Capital Markets.
“Mr Sowah has many achievements to his credit including liaising with James Capel and Lonrho in the sale of shares in Ashanti Goldfields Corp, drafting Foreign Exchange Retention Agreements involving Ghanaian gold mining companies, advising Ghana Commercial Bank, Ghana (now GCB Bank) and Social Security Bank on the sale of their shares to the Ghanaian diaspora and interpreting various (pieces of) financial legislation and their effect in practice,” it said.
The release said, “Other achievements are building relationships with the Prudential Regulatory Authority and Financial Conduct Authority, UK and building significant relationships with money transfer companies”.
It said Mr Sowah also played a leading role in the annual syndication of Ghana Cocoa Board´s receivables backed loans, the development of new correspondent banking relationships throughout West Africa and structured finance for the purchase of oil for Ghana.
“Mr Sowah attended Mfantsipim School, Cape Coast, and has a BA Honours degree in English and Philosophy from the University of Ghana, Legon,” it said.
It said Mr Sowah is a Barrister at Law and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ghana and member of the British Bankers Association, Business Council for Africa and the Association of Foreign Banks, all in London.
