The Central Bank of The Gambia (CBG) has issued a regulatory directive targeting commercial banks operating in the country, ordering the immediate, phased replacement of non-Gambian employees with qualified local nationals.

In an official circular dated September 16, 2026, signed by the Second Deputy Governor, Dr Paul Mendy, sighted by The Guardian yesterday, the regulator delivered an ultimatum: commercial banks must complete a full transition to local talent by December 31, 2026.

The decision follows an industry-wide investigation conducted by the central bank following an executive meeting with bank Managing Directors on August 27, 2026. The audit uncovered a widespread reliance on foreign personnel outside of standard executive expatriate allowances, a practice the regulator explicitly identified as violating The Gambia’s Labour Act 2023 and Guideline 9 on Expatriate Staff.

While the directive applies universally to all financial institutions in the country, its primary impact falls heavily on regional subsidiaries, including notably major Nigerian multinational banking institutions operating in the nation.

For decades, Nigerian banking giants, including Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank Gambia), First Bank Gambia, Access Bank, and Zenith Bank Gambia, have maintained a massive presence in Banjul and across the Greater Banjul Area.

Findings showed that standard operating practice for many pan-African Nigerian banks has historically involved deploying key middle-management, IT personnel, risk management teams, and operational leads directly from headquarters in Lagos to oversee regional subsidiaries.

Under the new directive, these institutions are now forced to radically restructure their workforce models within less than four months.

The CBG mandate demands that banks immediately design structured succession and skills-transfer arrangements. The regulator emphasised that operational continuity must be maintained throughout the transition, but made it clear that non-compliance will not be tolerated.

Analysts believed that for foreign parent institutions, especially those in Nigeria, the directive presents severe operational hurdles, including talent pipeline pressure, where foreign banks must rapidly source, train, and promote local talent into specialised technical and managerial roles previously filled by seconded foreign personnel.