Ghana International Bank eyes US market as Africa appetite grows

London-based Ghana International Bank Plc (GHIB) wants to expand its presence to the US as American appetite grows for projects across Africa, new chief executive officer Ian Greenstreet said.

The Trump administration has made critical minerals a top priority and the UK-regulated lender – whose main shareholder is the Ghanaian central bank – is in a unique position to connect investors with bankable projects linked to the industry, Greenstreet told Bloomberg in New York Monday.

“If you’ve got somebody who’s prepared to do the heavy lifting for you, and show you the deals, and put their own money into those deals, who can diligence the deals to a standard, being a US standard” the ‘friction’ of doing business in Africa can be greatly reduced, he said.

Greenstreet took over GHIB in June after more than 40 years with lenders including ABN AMRO Bank NV, HSBC Holdings Plc and NatWest Group Plc.

The bank has profited from the development of Ghana’s economy in recent years, particularly in gold mining, he said.

“Our strategy is to leverage our expertise gained dealing with gold, manganese, lithium, iron ore and cocoa and leverage that expertise and transport that expertise to other African countries,” he said.

GHIB has a number of debt deals ‘oven-ready’ that it’s proposing to investors as Greenstreet tours the US.

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“We’re looking for partners who are prepared to come with us to essentially deliver the full package,” he said. “That’s what we can do by having greater presence here.”

Greenstreet declined to provide details of the deals, which are still under negotiation.

GHIB’s assets rose 9% to £1.2 billion last year, while net profit rose 29% to £5.4 million, according its 2025 financial report.

Making cross-border  banking easier

The bank is also expanding its offerings across Africa with central bank partnerships and correspondent banking services.

In recent years global lenders have withdrawn correspondent banking services due to the time and cost of complying with US anti-money laundering rules, complicating financial transfers to and from the continent.

“We’ve created technology which will enable total look-through” to adhere to US know-your-customer regulations and speed up transactions, Greenstreet said.

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The bank is also talking to governments looking to use their gold production for monetary reserves, something GHIB has done with Ghana’s own central bank.

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The bank is in “the perfect position to intermediate that,” he said. “We can provide cash against those reserves in case any of the central banks suddenly need cash.”

Meanwhile, Greenstreet says demand for yuan borrowing among companies, particularly those doing business with China and seeking to diversify their debt options, has yet to materialise at GHIB.

“We see the growing trend,” he said. “If enough of our clients wants this, then it’s worth us doing.”

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