FIASEMAN RURAL BANK HOLDS AGM (PAGE 20)

THE Fiaseman Rural Bank Limited at Bogoso in the Prestea/Huni Valley District in the Western Region made a net profit of GH¢184,679 last year as against GH¢150,804 in 2006.
The bank also had a total deposit of GH¢2,701,239 or 9.7 per cent growth in 2007 as against GH¢2,462,116 in 2006.
Loans and advances of the bank grew from GH¢1,094,127 in 2006 to GH¢1,328,817 in 2007, representing a growth of 21.5 per cent.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors of the bank, Osagyefo Amanfo Edu V1, announced this at the 20th annual general meeting of shareholders and the 25th anniversary celebration of the bank at Bogoso.
He explained that GH¢212,975 went into agriculture, while GH¢24,313 was granted to the transport sector, with GH¢5,284 going into cottage industry.
Osagyefo Edu said trading received GH¢337,964 while other areas got GH¢798,337.00.
He said the bank also disbursed a total amount of GH¢155,193 in the form of micro loans as of December 2007 in order to reduce the poverty level within the communities in its catchment area.
Osagyefo Edu implored all beneficiaries of loan facilities to repay them to enable the bank to maintain its cordial customer/banker relationship and also for other customers to benefit.
According to the chairman, total assets of the bank grew from GH¢3,683,302 in 2006 to GH¢5,121,689 in 2007.
He said a total of GH¢10,928.50 was spent on the bank’s community and social responsibility programmes in 2007 as against GH¢6,335 in 2006.
Osagyefo Edu noted that the new era of banking in the country had brought with it dramatic changes and as a result, the board and management of the bank were putting in proactive measures to meet the competition by training the staff, repackaging old products and developing additional ones to position itself for the competition.
He, therefore, appealed to the shareholders to buy more shares to enable the bank to improve its capital base.
In an address read on his behalf, the Managing Director of the ARB Apex Bank Limited, Mr Eric Osei-Bonsu, said the ongoing rural and community banks computerisation which started under the Rural Financial Services Project (RFSP), had received a further boost from the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA).
He said the MCA was making funds available not only for the full computerisation of the banks and their agencies, but also the networking of all rural and community banks (RCBs) and their agencies under a Wide Area Network.
Mr Osei-Bonsu said the benefits from that assistance were enormous, adding: "In addition to improving the operational efficiency of RCBs, it would speed up the full integration of the RCBs into the National Payment System.
"You are, therefore, entreated to update all your customer information and ensure that static data of your customers, and your agencies are captured in readiness for smooth implementation," he stated.
The managing director noted that the bank had a competitive advantage in micro financing which would not only bring improvement in the living standards of beneficiaries, but would also increase the bank’s income.
He entreated the board and management of the bank to put in place proper and effective monitoring mechanisms that would ensure the full recovery of the loans given out in order to guarantee sustainability and also reduce the burden of bad loans on profits.