Formerly The National Bank of Industry and Commerce (NBIC) Limited, executives unveiled the Republic Bank (Guyana) brand on Monday to reflect the image of its parent company, Republic Bank, based in Trinidad and Tobago.

"I see Guyana as the cornerstone for us to create some strategy for South America . You are sitting in a large continent, and therefore there must be opportunities for us as a group to grow outside of Guyana and move into other territories, whether it is Suriname or Brazil, which will then tie into our vision of creating an organisation that could move throughout the region," Dulal-Whiteway said last Friday at a simple ceremony to announce the bank's change of name.

NBIC was established on November 29, 1984 as the successor bank, with the cessation of business in Guyana by the Royal Bank of Canada, after a banking history dating back to 1836. On November 20, 1997, Republic Bank Limited acquired 51% ownership of the bank.

The majority of the Bank's shares are held by Trinidadians, while 49% of the shares are held by the Guyanese public.

Dulal-Whiteway said the institution hopes to eventually create one organisation that is owned and managed by the people of the Caribbean.

"We would like to see that the shares of the group are held not only within Trinidad, but in Guyana, Barbados, and Grenada, because we also have major operations in these countries," Dulal-Whiteway told the gathering.

Guyanese employees of the company will be able to take advantage of moving throughout the region to develop their careers, while local customers will also be able to move through the Caribbean region, knowing that Republic Bank's services, with subsidiaries in Barbados and Grenada among other islands, are available to them.

Based in Trinidad and Tobago, Republic Bank is seen as the fastest growing Eastern Caribbean Bank.