The Bawku East Small-Scale Farmers Association (BESSFA) Rural Bank Limited has opened two new branches in Nalerigu and Bunkpurugu in the North East Region to provide banking services to the people in the areas.

Until recently, the Bank was operating with four fully computerized and networked branches namely: Garu (Headquarters), Bawku and Pusiga in the Upper East Region and Nakpanduri in the North East Region.

Addressing the stakeholders’ at the opening ceremony of the two new banks at separate functions on Tuesday, the General Manager of the Bank, Alhaji Hayatudeen Awudu Ibrahim, stated that the two new banks were initially operating as Mobilization Centers for many years and officers of the Bank were sent from the Nakpanduri Branch to serve customers at the two locations on market days only and the services being offered were limited to taking deposits and accepting withdrawals.

He mentioned that this coupled with the inconveniences and the cost usually incurred by the clients from the two locations in travelling more than a day or two to enable them access loans at the Nakpanduri Branch , prompted the Board and Management of the bank to open the two new banks to address the challenges.

Alhaji Ibrahim disclosed that plans were far advanced by the mother bank to install an Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) at the two newly established branches, within the next twelve months to provide clients with 24/7 access to their funds and to also make it very convenient for customers to access their funds anytime and anywhere in the country.

The General Manager who commended the Bank of Ghana for granting the mother bank the approval to establish the two new banks in Nalerigu and Bunkpurugu after successfully going through all the necessary processes and meeting all the regulatory requirements, also announced that the new branches have been fully equipped with modern infrastructure to provide safer and conducive working environment to serve the clients efficiently and effectively.

He indicated that the Bank envisioned to be the most preferred financial institution among the best and its mission of ‘’promoting financial inclusion and creating value for stakeholders through excellent service, innovation and professionalism and explained that it was in line with this mission that the Board and Management of the banks saw the need to extend the Bank’s physical presence in Nalerigu and Bunkpurugu to ensure easy access to financial services to support the growth and development of these areas.

He stated that the mother bank which was established and granted Rural Banking license by the Bank of Ghana in November, 1983 has since been operating creditably and has met all the regulatory requirements in the country.

The General Manage who stated that the Bank is one of the leading financial institutions in the country that advance more loans to the agricultural sector than any other sector , indicated that most of the financial institutions in the country consider the agribusiness sector, particularly crop production as a high risky venture and so they offer very little or no support to the sector.

“We have by this gesture succeeded in bringing the best out of our farmers leading to an increase in food production, food security and guaranteed business and household income for about 38 years. The most of the youth and women within our catchment area have taken agriculture as business and have since moved from subsistence farming to commercial farming due to our consistent support to them. I am happy to state that agribusiness loans take about 36% of the entire loans and advances on our balance sheet as at the end of December, 2020”.

The General stated that due the bank’s good performances in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) especially in the areas of education, health, water and sanitation, agriculture, environment, sports and culture, it received the enviable award at the 2020 Ghana Philanthropy Awards held in Accra in December last year.

He stated that for the purpose of good governance and security of the bank, the Board has also put in place a Risk Management department within the Bank which identifies, assess, monitor and control inherent risks on continuous basis in the day-to-day management of the Bank. He also expressed his profound gratitude to the Overlord of the Nayiri, Naa Bohagu Mahama Abdulai Sheriga, the Regional Co-ordinating Council, the East Mamprusi Municipal Assembly, the Municipal Directorate of Education, the Police Service for their immense support leading to the opening of these Branches.

The Bolgatanga Branch Manage of the ARB Apex Bank, Mr Mark Willie who read the speech for the Managing Director of the ARB Apex Bank, Kojo Mattah commended the BESSFA Rural Bank for its excellence performance over the years, and the management of the bank to continues to put in place good governance structure to maintain the standards.