BE VIGILANT AGAINST INFILTRATION BY FRAUDSTERS — Osei-Bonsu cautions Rural Banks (PAGE 22, SEPT 24, 2010)

THE Managing Director of the ARB APEX Bank Limited, Mr Eric Osei-Bonsu, has cautioned management and board of directors of the rural and community banks (RCBS) in the country to be extra vigilant against the infiltration of fraudsters into the industry through students’ industrial attachment and national service.
He stated that some banks had lost huge sums of money through fraudulent manipulations by those fraudsters engaged under the pretext of being interns or national service persons.
He, therefore, emphasised that all rural and community banks must exercise due diligence and be circumspect in engaging students on industrial attachment and national service .
Mr Osei-Bonsu gave the caution in an address read on his behalf at the 22nd Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of the Fiaseman Rural Bank at Bogoso in the Western Region at the weekend.
He said the genuineness of those persons must be thoroughly checked before accepting them, and once they were accepted, care must be taken not to give them schedules where they could perpetrate fraud.
“Furthermore, the boards and management of rural and community banks with high inter-agency balances should ensure daily reconciliation between their head offices and agencies,” he added.
Mr Osei-Bonsu said that would also reduce the opportunity for fraud and thereby preserveshareholders’ equity at the banks .
He said apart from co-operative mergers to strengthen rural and community banks in the wake of stiff competition, one major area where the banks could develop and create a unique marketing niche for strength was the micro-finance business.
“Although almost all RCBs are operating some form of micro-finance, we are still a sleeping giant who must be awakened from our slumber and begin to run,” he said.
Mr Osei-Bonsu, therefore, called on the banks to think about micro-finance and promote it to sustain their banks.