The most topical and talked-about issue these days in Sierra Leone is the unrivalled achievements of the bank’s Managing Director, Dr. Ekundayo Walton Gipin. Most people argue and believe that he has been very instrumental and outstanding in bringing innovative accomplishments, thus making banking easier and more accessible to more Sierra Leoneans within the last four years, than ever before in our banking history.
The Managing Director of Rokel Commercial Bank (RCB), Dr. Ekundayo Walton Gilpin is no stranger to awards. Throughout his lifetime he has been nominated and has received numerous awards, the latest being the Twenty Faces of Bai Bureh Service Delivery Award.
This award was in respect of “sustainably managing the affairs of the RCB” in accordance with the norms of the organizers of Twenty Faces of Bai Bureh Service Delivery Awards.
The award was also in line with Dr. Gilpin’s meritorious conduct and humanitarian service to society over the years. But apart from the above award, Dr. Gilpin since appointment been nominated and received numerous awards, certificates and recognitions both nationally and internationally for his efforts at transforming the RCB from an almost broken and broken banking institution to become the most celebrated bank in Sierra Leone among its contemporaries.
He has on numerous occasions been invited by prominent educational and other institutions to give lectures and proffer advice or solutions to national and global phenomena which are linked to banking and financial services.
Dr. Gilpin is a household name both in Sierra Leone and abroad and is admired by his colleagues who rely on him for his pragmatic and all-sweeping contributions to the development of the financial sector of the country he is also recognized for his contributions to the banking sector over the years while he worked in a range of financial institutions both in Sierra Leone and abroad.
It is no secret that Dr. Gipin is a trendsetter when it comes to innovation. His novelty SIM Korpor hit the ground running and has ever since been a priority service for RCB customers who no longer need to stand in long queues but can cash in and out in the comfort of their homes or offices with utmost ease.
Apart from transforming the former Barclays Bank into the now reputable Rokel Commercial Bank, it was not all rosy at the Rokel Commercial Bank. Before the appointment of Dr. Gilpin, the RCB was nothing to write home about because it was a crumbling institution which was on the verge of being sold to private investors. But with the appointment of Dr. Ekundayo Walton Gilpin, he realized that he could transform the RCB with the right will and support of the government and the former indeed recapitalized the RCB since then, with Dr. Gilpin at the helm of affairs the story of the RCB is today a totally different story.
Dr. Gilpin in line with the RCB corporate social responsibility (CSR) is replete with numerous donations, scholarships, humanitarian assistance and other assistance to hundreds of people in virtually all areas across Sierra Leone. Dr. Gilpin has been known to support efforts to plant trees, embark on nationwide cleaning exercises, provide scholarships to deserving pupils and students, and support the elderly and disabled population with relief and logistics, among several other humanitarian and CSR drives.
Because of his high sense of devotion to the country and the banking sector, in particular, Dr. Gilpin was honoured by President Brigadier Rtd. Julius Maada Bio at a National Presidential Insignia and Awards Ceremony.
This shows that even the First Gentleman of the Republic has implicit trust, confidence, honor and respect for Dr. Gilpin, not only because of his demeanour and good character but also because of his dedication to the country and his forthright attention to doing his best for the improvement of the banking sector and the RCB in particular.
Meanwhile, Dr. Gilpin who is hardly satisfied or complacent enough to relax when he has achieved something good is considering other innovative moves he can take to make banking in Sierra Leone an effortless task and even enjoyable.
His colleagues would no doubt be admiring his gigantic and quantum leaps to transforming a dying and broke institution into a profitable, strong and financially sound bank with a penchant for initiating newer, easier, simpler and novelty ways people can do their banking transactions.
“If Sierra Leone can have twenty more men like Dr. Gilpin in its finance and banking sectors, development in all its forms will take a faster route in this New Direction and in the right direction and the rippling effect will be seen in the improved livelihoods of the people,” said a Kenyan financial expert who admires the innovative and pragmatic initiatives of the RCB MD to make banking services easier and more accessible to customers.