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Greenwich Bank Limited has unveiled plans to support farmers, cooperatives, processors and exporters in Ondo State as it deepens its presence in the South-West with the opening of a new branch in Akure and Ado-Ekiti.
The unveiling attracted government officials, traditional rulers, business leaders, professionals, traders, artisans and other stakeholders.
The Akure branch which was commissioned by Ondo State Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, who was represented by his deputy, Olayide Adelami, commended the bank for bringing its services to the state and urged residents and businesses to take advantage of its offerings.
He described the bank’s entry as a positive contribution to Ondo’s economic growth and assured the institution of the state government’s support as it expands operations.
Also speaking on the unveiling of the Ado-Ekiti branch, Ekiti State Governor Biodun Oyebanji, represented by his Chief of Staff, Niyi Adebayo, expressed confidence that the bank’s presence would enhance business activity, create new opportunities and promote shared prosperity across Ekiti State.
The bank in a statement via its Head of Corporate Communications, Ozena Utulu, said the expansion forms part of its strategy to move beyond serving large corporations and institutions to financing the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), traders and agricultural value chains that drive local economic activity.
Group Chairman of Greenwich Holdings Limited, Kayode Falowo, speaking during the unveiling, said the branches marked an important stage in Greenwich’s transformation from a merchant and investment banking institution into a broader commercial bank.
He said the bank’s commercial banking licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would allow it to bring its financial expertise closer to businesses and households, particularly those operating in agriculture and related enterprises.
“We will support farmers and cooperatives, back processors and exporters who add value locally, and equip Akure’s and Ado-Ekiti’s traders and entrepreneurs with the banking tools of a modern economy,” Falowo said.
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According to him, the bank will work to develop businesses and promote value-chain enterprises as trusted partners in the state. He said the goal is to help retain more of the value created from Ondo’s and Ekiti’s produce within the state, especially among the farmers and businesses that generate it.
Both states are major agricultural economies, with cocoa, oil palm, cassava and other commodities playing significant roles in local livelihoods and commerce. The bank’s focus on processors and exporters suggests an interest in financing not only primary production, but also storage, processing, logistics and export-related activities that can raise the value of farm produce.
Falowo said the expansion reflects a deliberate and patient transformation journey that has built Greenwich’s reputation in investment and merchant banking.
He described commercial banking as the platform through which the group would extend that expertise to the everyday businesses and individuals that underpin the economy.
Chairman of Greenwich Bank Limited, Segun Oloketuyi, said the new branch represented more than an expansion of the bank’s physical network.
Oloketuyi said Greenwich would leverage its strengthened capital base, industry experience, technology and relationship-driven approach to deliver accessible and innovative banking solutions to customers.
The Akure opening follows the commissioning of three branches in Lagos and precedes the opening of an Ado-Ekiti branch, as the bank rolls out its first phase of commercial banking expansion.
Greenwich Bank began operations in June 1994 as Greenwich Trust Limited, a Securities and Exchange Commission-regulated financial adviser and issuing house. It became Greenwich Merchant Bank in 2020 after obtaining a merchant banking licence, before receiving approval in August 2026 to operate as a regional commercial bank.
