Commercial banks urged to reduce interest rates

Kumasi, March 29, GNA- Professor Gyan Baffour, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, has reiterated the call on commercial banks to take advantage of the stability of the Bank of Ghana's (BOG) prime rate to reduce interest rates charged on loans granted to their customers.

He said the current economic stability should offer opportunity to the banks to minimize their operational costs in order to reduce interest rates on credits advanced to customers.

Professor Baffour was speaking at the grand opening of the Kumasi branch of Unibank in Kumasi on Wednesday.

He said the government had pursued a number of programmes to stabilize the economy and there was the need for the banks to make credits easily available and affordable to the private sector to promote growth. The Deputy Minister said the opening of new branches by the banks had helped to increase competition and improved financial intermediation, adding that, the influx of foreign banks into the country also indicated the trust and confidence in the banking sector in the country. Professor Baffour urged Unibank to be innovative by developing new products that would attract more customers to it.

Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, Deputy Governor of the BOG, said the increasing number of banks in the country and the opening of branches across the country indicated an improvement in the saving culture of the people and the confidence in the sector.

He said the stability of the economy had contributed significantly to the success in the financial sector, adding that the banking sector had been vibrant in the last couple of years.

Dr Bawumia said the BOG was committed to ensuring a stable macro economic environment, which would be conducive for accelerated economic growth.

Mr Osei-Assibey Antwi, Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, said the banking sector was one area where the government relied to provide financial support to the people. He appealed to the banks to provide consultancy services to their clients to enable them utilize credit facilities provided them efficiently.

Dr Kwabena Duffuor, Board Chairman of Unibank, said the success story of the bank was an ample testimony of how indigenous people could harness their resources to contribute to the growth and development of the country's economy.

He said the bank was fashioning out strategies to meet the emerging challenges in the banking industry by introducing innovative measures to meet the demands of the people to make it remain the most preferred bank in Kumasi.

Mr Joe Tetteh, Chief Executive Officer of the bank, said the bank commenced operations six years ago and now has six branches in Accra. He said a second branch would be opened at Suame Magazine in Kumasi by the end of the year.

Mr Tetteh said the bank's strategy was to focus on the financial needs of the personal banking markets and the Small and Medium Scale enterprises.