Walewale, (N/R), Oct 31, GNA - The Bangmarigu Rural Bank in the West Mamprusi District of the Northern Region in 2009 doubled its total assets t= o
GHC3,381,701 in 2009 from GHC 1,661,391, in 2008, representing a growth of 104 percent. The Bank also recorded a net profit of GHC 176,118 in 2009 as against GHC 63,070.00 in 2008, which was an improvement of GHC 113,048.00, representing a growth of 179 percent. Mr. John Asabigi, Board Chairman of the Bank, announced this at the 10th Annual General Meeting of the Bank in Walewale at the weekend. The occasion was under the theme: 93Helping our bank to grow through savings a= nd prompt payment of loans." Mr. Asabigi said the bank had to also transfer monies from its income surplus account twice to stated capital to meet the Bank of Ghana's requirements to enable the Bank to exist as a legal entity. He said the Bank first transferred GHC 38, 789.90 in 2006 to raise its stated capital to the minimum requirement of GHC 50,000.00 and in 2008 it transferred another GHC 95,000.00 to raise its stated capital to meet th= e minimum requirement of GHC 150,000.00. The Board Chairman said customers' deposits recorded an appreciabl= e increase of 18 percent over the previous year's (2008) figure of GHC 1,148,602.00 to settle at GHC 1,349,051.00 at 31st December 2009. He said although these figures were impressive the Bank had not yet met its projected target of GHC 3,450,000.00 as envisaged in its corporate plan and, therefore, called on customers to make more savings. "Operations of savings deposit account has a further advantage for business people who seek bank assistance to expand their operations since such account balances can be used as collateral for their loans and overdrafts," he said.
Mr. Asabigi announced that the Bank of Ghana had given the Banmarigu Rural Bank the approval to operate a special account known as the 93Biozug= u Plan Account" for children's education. He explained that it was a trust account purposely for the education of children. Under this service, parents open trust accounts for their children an= d pay some fixed monthly amounts into them.
He said as the children graduate from either junior to Senior High School (SHS) or from SHS to tertiary institutions they could use their admission letters to seek loans, which would be granted at concessionary interest rates while their trust accounts continue to earn interest. The Board Chairman said the bank's outstanding portfolio, which cov= ers sectors such as personal loans, overdraft facilities for traders, contractors, transport owners and micro-finance loans for farmers and traders increased by 44 percent between 2008 and 2009 from GHC 726,364.00 t= o GHC1, 043, 863,00.
He said the loans were not entirely financed from customers' deposi= ts but also through borrowed funds from government agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Budget Support, Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs and the Social Investment Fund. It is, therefore, sad, he said, to note that most of the loans grante= d since 2006 were outstanding adding; 93Our main challenge in our effort to help the productive poor out of their situation, however, has been their poor if not negative response, with regard to loan recoveries." 93String= ent measures would soon be taken to recover all outstanding loans," he warned= .. Mr. Eric Osei Bonsu, ARB Apex Bank Managing Director, in a speech rea= d on his behalf, commended the Banmarigu Bank for its impressive performance. He, however, cautioned the bank against the activities of fraudsters who he said could easily collapse the Bank. Mishio-Rana Amadu Sulemana, the Chief of Misho in the West Mamprusi District, said in this era of stiff competition from other banks the only way to ensure the survival of the Banmarigu bank was for customers to increase their share subscriptions. He, therefore, called on customers to make regular savings at the bank instead of hiding their monies at home saying; 93savings is the engin= e that moves a bank, loans are not free money from government."
31 Oct. 10
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