CAREER banker Amral Khan has been appointed as the new Managing Director of Republic Bank Guyana Limited.

According to a notice from the bank on Wednesday, Khan’s appointment will take effect from August 1, 2019. He will succeed Richard Sammy, who will be taking up a new appointment at Republic Bank in Trinidad and Tobago.

Khan, who has over 34 years of banking experience, has held positions in internal audit, risk management and retail, commercial and corporate banking at Republic Bank.
He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Management from the University of the West Indies (UWI), a Diploma in Business Management from UWI Institute of Business and a Master of Business Administration in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, also from UWI.
It was reported that the bank achieved a profit after tax of $3.1 billion in 2018, compared to $2.7 billion in 2017. According to the bank’s 2018 annual report, apart from the normal banking operations which accounted for $2,951.4 million, the increase was due to an extraordinary gain realised from the sale of a fixed asset.

Sammy, in his report, said against a challenging external environment, the bank focused on improving its operational efficiency by aggressively managing costs, restructuring workflow processes and reviewing systems and procedures.

“A key project, which commenced in 2018 and will be completed in 2019, is the Information Technology Consolidation Initiative that will harmonise the Bank’s IT platforms with other members within the Republic Group, ultimately advancing our technology and improving our product and service offerings to our customers,” said Sammy.

Chairman of Republic Bank Guyana Limited, Nigel Baptiste, in his report, said as Guyana prepares for first oil in 2020, Republic Bank is committed to supporting this emerging sector as well as Government-led initiatives to diversify some of the traditional sectors of the economy.