The Bangmarigu Community Bank made a net profit of GH? 86,051.00, showing a decline of 9.3 per cent compared with the previous year’s total of Gh? 94,837.00.

Mr. Daniel Sandow, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, who announced this attributed the dip in operational returns to the difficult business environment.

He was addressing the annual shareholders meeting at Walewale in the West Mamprusi District.

He told owners of the bank that despite the challenges, they were able to grow its assets from the year 2013 figure of GH? 5,806,096.00 to GH? 6,331,350.00 in 2014.

During the period, total deposits also rose to GH? 4,896,752.00 from GH? 4,148,488.00, representing an increase of 18 per cent.

At the same time, the shareholders’ fund shot up from GH¢ 732,263.00 to GH¢ 744,239.00 while the bank’s noncurrent assets increased by GH¢ 248,610 – climbing from GH¢ 556,742.00 to GH¢ 805,352.00 and he said this was due to the construction of a new head office building.

Mr. Kwadwo Aryeh Kusi, Managing Director of ARB Apex Bank, reminded the management and board of rural and community banks to stick to good corporate governance - transparency, discipline, fairness and accountability.

He pointed out that this was important to sustain them on the path of progress and win over more customers.

They should continue to give priority to good customer care, something he said was the basis of business growth.

“Satisfactory customer service means meeting the expectation of our numerous customers” and he therefore advised that the banks should be innovative in their customer service delivery.

Mr. Kusi asked them to research into the needs of their customers and tailor their products to meet these needs to ensure customer satisfaction and retention.

He noted that the banking industry had become more competitive and urged continuous staff training to upgrade their skills.

He applauded the management of the Bangmarigu Community Bank for its impressive performance.