Bolgatanga, Aug 19, GNA - Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, Deputy Governor of Bank of Ghana, at the weekend urged the various banks to encourage their customers to take advantage of the new Foreign Exchange Act to transfer and save their foreign earnings with local banks.

The new Act, which replaces the Exchange Control Act of 1961, provides a new statutory framework for foreign exchange payments and transactions that allow individuals to transfer up to 10,000 dollars each year from their foreign exchange accounts for business in the country without documentation.

Dr Bawumia, who was speaking at the opening of a new branch of Barclays Bank at Bolgatanga, said the new law allowed importers to make direct transfer from their foreign accounts of up to 25,000 dollars per transaction without initial documentation. He said Ghanaians travelling abroad are permitted to carry with them up to the equivalent of 10,000 dollars, unlike the old act that allowed between 3,000 and 5,000 dollars.

The Deputy Governor said saving with the banks was easier and more profitable now than before and urged people in possession of foreign currencies not to hide them in their rooms but deposit them with the banks.

Dr Bawumia observed that in the past three years, various banks had opened branches in the regions due to the increase in real incomes and the need for more competition for deposits.

He said between 2002 and 2004, bank branches increased from 309 to 344 while 81 new branches were added between 2004 and 2006. However, only 27 bank branches, out of 425 were located in the northern part of the country, including the Upper East region, he noted. "Barclays Bank is, however, not opening this here today because it is feeling sorry for the people of Bolgatanga. It is doing so because it makes good business sense and I am sure more banks would soon realize that it makes good business sense to open branches with large unbanked populations, whether North or South. This is what competition is all about," he said.

Dr Bawumia held that the stable macro-economic environment in the country had generated a healthy competition in the banking industry, with low inflation, stable exchange rate and declining interest rates. He commended banks operating in Ghana for their support during the redenomiation exercise that began last July, saying, the Central Bank was aware of the strain the exercise put on the bank staff, "but we knew that we could count on your professionalism." Mrs Margaret Mwanakatwe, Managing Director of Barclays Bank, urged business people and civil servants in the Bolgatanga Municipality to open accounts with Barclays, saying, 700 people had already registered to do so.

She said the Bank had projected to open about 2,000 new accounts in three months and assured the people of fast and efficient services, and "an agreeable loan system".

"Let me assure you that our doors are open to all customers because with as little as GH(4.00 (40,000 cedis), you can open an account with any of our branches across the country," she said, adding that small scale business operators could also join Barclays' business club and take advantage of the numerous training programmes and investment trips to improve upon their businesses.

Mrs Agnes Chigabatia, Upper East Deputy Regional Minister who cut the sod to open the bank, expressed the hope that Barclays would help improve the standard of living of the people. She advised all who would be borrowing from the Bank to pay back in good time in so others could also benefit. She advised the Bank staff to be friendly to customers so as to attract more of them.