NPP government will continue to deepen ties with Rural Banks in Ghana - MCE

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Jomoro Municipality in the Western Region, Mr. Ernest Kofie has opined that the government would continue to deepen its ties with Banks and support Rural Banks in the country to reclaim their positions of importance.

According to him, the government will ensure that the enabling environment is created for rural banks to excel in the country.

The MCE made the above utterance when the Jomoro Rural Bank Limited was having its 21st Annual General Meeting (AGM).

He lauded the Bank for the support it has given to farmers, fisher folks and various small-scale businesses in the municipality to boost the local economy.

"We appreciate the support this bank over the years has given to our farmers, fisher folks and the various small scale business in the municipality towards helping in diverse ways to boost the local economy", he lauded.

He, therefore, used the occasion to commend the stakeholders of the bank for playing vital roles to sustain the bank.

He also called on the stakeholders to continue to play their respective roles to sustain the bank.

"The stakeholders of this bank have over the years played their respective roles well enough to ensure that the bank stays in business. If all stakeholders continue to play their respective roles, I will agree that the future of this bank will be brighter than we can imagine. The cooperation that exists between the bank and the Municipal Assembly is very impressive", he revealed.

Commenting on some collapsed banks, Mr. Kofie said government had no option than to dissolve prestigious banks in recent times to save its nationals from having their monies in jeopardy and serve as a deterrent to other banks that were not enforcing appropriate banking standards and laws.

"Mr. Chairman, am sure that most of us are aware of the recent crises in the banking sector of our dear nation. I share in the pain of the collapse of prestigious banks like UT, Capital Bank and Unibank. The painful reality is that many of our dear brothers and sisters have lost their source of livelihoods as a result", he said.

He added "Among the many reasons given for this swoop by government in the banking sector was the fact that most of these banks operated more than a year blind to the full ramification of hundreds of millions of dollars of liabilities and obligations. The Government had no choice than to dissolve the activities of such banks to save its nationals from having their monies in jeopardy and also to serve as a deterrent to other banks that were not enforcing appropriate banking standards and laws. This is indeed a wake-up call for all regulators and operators in the sector to put their houses in order".

The MCE said as part of the Assembly and central government's plan to bridge the gap in unemployment in the formal and informal sector by bringing development and growth in the small and medium scale businesses, the One District, One Factory, the planting for food and jobs initiative and the planting for export and rural development by government were serious investment opportunities for the people to support and promote.

"The bank must position itself well to play a critical role to support in the realization of these laudable policies by government", he urged.

Mr. Kofie asked the bank to position itself well to match its foreign competitors who were trooping into the country.

"The need for the bank to develop customized products to address the peculiar needs of the increasingly S.M.C. and also improve on customer services and invest strategically depositors money for higher returns cannot be overlooked", he noted.

While commending the bank for its living up to its social co-operate responsibilities, the MCE tasked the bank to institute scholarship schemes to support brilliant but needy students in the Municipality.

Mr. Kofie reminded the bank of its tax obligation to the Assembly and central government and charged the bank to make maximum use of the serene environment created by government to project and support the growth and development of business in the Jomoro Municipality.

The Jomoro Rural Bank posted yet another impressive performance of 19.77% profit before tax from GHc501,782.00 in 2016 to GHc601,006.00 in 2017.

An amount of Ghc9,044,714.00 was disbursed to small and medium scale enterprises, farmers, salaried workers in the bank's catchment areas in 2017 compared to GHc6,832,927.00 in 2016.

Total income soared by 29.92% from GHc3,562,341.00 in 2016 to GHc4,026,959.00 in 2017.

Total expenses also increased from GHc3,562,341.00 in 2016 to GHc4,026,959.00 in 2017 recording a turnover of 31.58%.

The bank experienced remarkable improvements in all the financial indicators with a rise in Total Assets form GHc15,251,531.00 in 2016 to GHc18,202,225.00 in 2017. Total Deposits also soared from GHc13,013,963.00 in 2016 to GHc15,818,617.00 in 2017.

Investments also rose from GHc6,600,000.00 in 2016 to GHc7,500.000.00 in 2017 with Advances shooting up from GHc4,782,510.00 in 2016 to GHc6,270,472.00 in 2017.Profit after Tax also increased from GHc471,473.00 in 2016 to GHc532,675.00 in 2017.

Paid-Up capital also increased from GHc532,848.00 in 2016 to GHc1,018,588.00 in 2017 with shareholders fund also booming from GHc1,431,111.00 in 2016 to GHc2,039,526.00 in 2017.