Banks, Banking & Financial Services in Gambia
The Gambia’s financial system is built around the Central Bank of The Gambia, commercial banks, foreign exchange bureaux, and insurance companies.
In addition, there is a non-bank parastatal, the Social Security and Housing Finance Corporation (SSHFC), that invests its available funds to meet future pension and provident fund obligations.
Other components of The Gambia’s financial system include micro-credit institutions engaged mainly in small-scale rural project financing.
Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG)
The Central Bank of The Gambia has as part of its functions, the following:
to stimulate growth in productivity and employment generation in the desired sectors through the prudent use of monetary policy measures to control inflation through its power to regulate the rate of credit expansion by commercial banks. Inflation in The Gambia has been kept at bay averaging around 4% on a year-to-year-basis to provide banking services to the Government and other commercial banks, and to insurance companies.
CBG has demonstrated an efficient value management capacity of the country’s currency, whose rate of exchange has been generally stable. The Dalasi is the most stable currency in West Africa.
Through the use of indirect controls as a substitute to the use of credit ceilings, the Bank’s focused policy has resulted in more efficient allocation of funds as well as enhanced financial inter-mediation that encourage private investments in the economy.
Commercial Banks in Gambia
The six commercial banks currently existing offer such banking services as trade finance and credit, dealings in foreign exchange and equity participation and deposits.
However, in spite of the full liberalisation of the banking environment, and conformity with the WTO Agreement on financial services, the banking sector still remains uncompetitive and thus offers a narrow range of financial products and services to meet comprehensively, the development needs of the economy.
To increase the range of available financial services, Government encourages, with prioritised urgency, the development of additional/alternative financial institutions, stock market, and village savings and micro-credit schemes to enhance credit access possibilities in The Gambia.
Banking Hours in Gambia
All banks are open from 0800hrs to 1330hrs Monday to Thursday, and 0800hrs to 1130 hrs on Friday. Some banks are open also on Saturdays up to noon
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