Merchant Bank, one of the country’s oldest indigenous banks, has set itself some very ambitious targets. It says it wants to grow into a major West African bank in the next two to three years. Presently, the bank is mobilizing the funds it needs to meet the minimum capital requirement for banks in its category by the Bank of Ghana's June this year, but its Managing Director Peter Illiasu tells Joy Business the bank is looking beyond that horizon. In its efforts to achieve that feat, Mr Illiasu said, Merchant Bank intends to establish itself as the preferred place for investors to lodge their money. “First of all we want to become the best place for shareholders to invest. If we do establish this and the shareholders come in to Merchant Bank, then we can use this money to be able to expand even further,” he indicated. “We want to become the trade bank of Ghana and then secondly we can then branch into West Africa.” According to Mr Illiasu, Merchant Bank has done the appropriate feasibilities and due diligence to ensure that its plans are successfully translated into reality. “We have studied the terrain…very well; we know we can easily compete with any bank in West Africa. We know we can easily spread to West Africa. If you really want to become a major player on the West African market, you cannot become a local bank,” the Merchant bank boss stressed. Source: Joy Business/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana