Bank of Ghana to introduce new cheque clearing system

Apam, May 27, GNA - The Bank of Ghana is to introduce a new cheque clearing system to be known as "cheque code-line clearing" into banking services with effect from July this year. The electronic-based system which is to make cheque clearing faster was an innovation of the Ghana inter-bank payments solutions system (GHIPSS), a subsidiary of the Bank of Ghana. Mr Richard Mettle Addo, Head of Research and Marketing Department of

the ARB Apex Bank, announced these at the 28th annual general meeting of the

Gomoa Rural Bank at Apam. He said the cheque code-line clearing and the e-zwich money transfer were

part of reforms being made by the Central Bank to make Ghana a cashless

economy, which means people would not need to do transactions with fiscal cash. Mr. Addo appealed to Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) to alter their operations to keep in tune with the changing technological and electronic requirements. He commended management and Board of directors of the Gomoa Rural Bank for increasing its capital adequacy ration to 55.79 per cent placing second

position among 126 Rural/Community Banks (RCBs) in the country. Mr. Kodwo Konadu Asiamah, Executive Director, Association of Rural

Banks, urged directors of RCBs to initiate programmes to encounter the global

economic crunch. He appealed to metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to channel

their shares of the District Assembly Common Fund through RCBs to help them

to generate more revenue to support development projects in their areas. Mr. Andrew B. Simpson, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Gomoa Rural Bank, in a report said the Bank made GHc52,247 profit before tax in 2008

as against GHc32,748 representing 59 per cent deposits increased from

GHc759,485 in 2007 to GHc1,170,504 representing 54 per cent. He said investment rose from GHc786,984 in 2007 to GHc998,305,

representing 27 per cent, in the year under review. Mr. Simpson expressed concern about the failure of customers to repay

loans contracted to them, declaring GHc67,307 as outstanding loan in 2008 as

against GHc94,283 in 2007. Mrs. Rose Newman, National President of the Association of Rural Banks,

appealed to shareholders to increase their shares to enable the bank to raise its

capital adequacy. She, however, commended the bank for raising it share capital from

GHc51,000 in 2007 to GHc154,000 in 2008.