The Nandom Rural Bank was able add 16 thousand,981Ghana Cedis being the sale of 84 thousand, 905 shares to increase its total share capital to one million, 268 thousand 537 (1,268,537) Ghana Cedis in 2017.
The amount is well above the Bank of Ghana’s new minimum capital of one million Ghana Cedis required of Rural and Community Banks (RCBs) by the end of 2018.
The Board Chairman of the Nandom Rural Bank, Francis Kogh Beinpuo announced this at the 36th Annual General Meeting of the Bank at Nandom in the Upper West Region.
GBC’s Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo reports that Mr. Beinpuo told the shareholders that in spite of the feat, the board and management are redoubling their efforts and exploring ways to mobilize additional capital in order to support the structural expansion of the bank.
Although, the 2017 financial year was very challenging for the banking sector in particular and the economy in general, the Bank made a pre-tax profit of 609 thousand, 403 (609,403) Ghana Cedis which was lower than the previous year’s profit of one million, 59 thousand,941(1,059,941) Ghana Cedis.
Low demand for credit equally compelled the bank to place most of the funds it mobilized into monetary instruments.
The Board Chairman, Mr Beinpuo discussed some if the the key performance areas of the bank for the period under review.
He said the bank’s deposits increased by 25% from 10 million, 881 thousand, 128 (10,881,128) Ghana Cedis in 2016 to 13 million, 607 thousand, 768 (13,607,768) Ghana Cedis in 2017.
The net worth of the bank grew from four million, 460 thousand, 547 Ghana Cedis in 2016 to four million, 812 thousand, 900 Ghana Cedis in 2017 representing 9.9% increase.
The Wa Branch Manager of ARB Apex Bank, John Kwaku Nyamador deputized for the Managing Director of ARB Apex Bank, Kojo Mattah.
Mr. Nyamador commended Nandom Rural Bank for placing 7th in the overall ranking of RCBs in the 2018,second quarter performance review across the country.
He called on RCBs to tighten their internal control measures to prevent fraud and uphold all basic know your customer (KYC) requirements at the account opening stage. Mr. Nyamador urged banks to adhere to the Bank of Ghana regulations on the granting of facilities to directors of RCBs.
The DCE for Nandom, Thaddeus Arkum Aasoglenang observed that the bank has been contributing significantly to develop the local economy of Nandom through its financial intermediation role over the past 36years.
The DCE said the Assembly considers the bank as its critical ally in poverty reduction and urged it to take advantage of an electronic-kiosk concept the National Lottery Authority intends to roll out.
Mr. Aasoglenang commended the General Manager of the Bank, William Widen Buukinter and his team for their impressive performance but added that the people of Nandom District expect “even a greater achievement” from the the bank.
Story by Emmanuel Mensah-Abludo