PARAMARIBO — The Handels, Krediet- en Industriebank, Hakrinbank, has been a pillar of the Surinamese economy for ninety years. The financial institution, founded on June 28, 1936, organized a festive meeting for its business banking customers on Saturday as part of the activities surrounding its 90th anniversary. In the Royal Ballroom of Hotel Torarica, President Jennifer Simons was represented by Vice President Gregory Russia. On this occasion, the VP and Minister Adelien Wijnerman of Finance and Planning praised the Hakrinbank as an indispensable pillar of the Surinamese economy.
The Vice President believes that trust is the basis of a healthy economy. “It is often said that money makes the economy tick. But I believe that trust really keeps the economy moving. Money only has value when people can trust it.” The government official emphasized that the anniversary represents much more than an impressive number of years. “Ninety years stands for nine decades of vision, entrepreneurship, perseverance and, above all, trust. Today we not only celebrate ninety years of a bank, we celebrate ninety years of trust.”
“The bank wants to promote sustainable energy projects through partnerships, including with the Suriname Conservation Foundation”
Russia recalled that Otto René Gottlieb Vervuurt founded the bank in 1936 as a Surinamese commercial bank to support entrepreneurs and stimulate the country’s economic development. The government official called this “an act of confidence in the strength, capabilities and entrepreneurship of the Surinamese people.”
Minister Wijnerman emphasized that the growth of the Hakrinbank is partly due to the cooperation between the government and the private sector. “Partly thanks to the capital injection and the policy in which government intervention has been kept to a minimum, Hakrinbank has grown into one of our system banks,” the minister added.
She also called on Hakrinbank to prepare for new developments. Minister Wijnerman mentioned, among other things, cybercrime, challenges on the labor market and the money and capital market, but also the opportunities offered by the oil and gas sector, the hotel industry, infrastructure projects and transport. “These developments will create opportunities for financial advice, lending and collaboration.”
Hakrinbank general manager Rafiek Sheoradjpanday launched two striking projects as part of the anniversary celebration: a solar energy project and an AI project. According to the director, these initiatives are in line with the bank’s ambition to further stimulate sustainability and innovation.
The bank aims to promote sustainable energy projects through partnerships, including with the Suriname Conservation Foundation, supporting investments in solar energy and sustainable financing for small and medium-sized businesses. In addition, the bank continues to invest in digitalization, including through the further development of mobile banking services for private and business customers and the use of smart data and AI solutions to further improve services and risk management.
