Obuasi, Dec. 21, GNA - The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has stated that it will not extend the December 31, 2007 deadline for the use of the old currency as a legal tender in the country.

Mr. Chris Apau, the Ashanti Regional Manager of the BoG, who disclosed this therefore, charged the public to avoid any inconveniences by using the remaining days to change any old notes and coins in their possession.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Obuasi branch of the First Allied Savings and Loans Limited, Mr. Apau stressed; "the old notes and coins will cease to be legal tender, however they can still be changed at any bank, rural bank and savings and loans companies, including First Allied Savings and Loans Limited".

The Regional Manager said it was the responsibility of all to continue to take good care of the new notes and also study the security features to avoid being duped.

He congratulated the First Allied Savings and Loans |Limited for the role it played in the successful implementation of the re-denomination exercise.

Mr. Apau emphasised that it was the policy of the BoG to bring banking facilities closer to the people and commended First Allied for opening a branch at Obuasi.

The Managing Director of First Allied, Mr Philip Y. Amaky observed that within the past few years the financial sector had witnessed tremendous growth both in terms of number of licensed banks, their assets base, and credit exposures to the public.

"I am pleased to say that First Allied has had its fair share of this quantum leap in the banking industry and today, according to statistics by the regulator, the Bank of Ghana, we are among the leaders, if not the leader in the savings and loans sector," he said.

Mr Amakye said the Obuasi branch was the fifth in the Ashanti Region and ninth countrywide and that, "we are ready now to reach out to the small-scale enterprise sector here in the city of gold with our broad range of services and products designed to meet the varying needs of this sector."

The Managing Director further pledged to be more innovative, particularly in their products development and credit management practices to meet the challenges facing the majority of the people in the informal, micro, small and medium scale vocations who continued to cry for efficient and effective financial services delivery. The Bishop of the Obuasi Diocese of the Catholic Church, the Most Rev Thomas K. Mensah, who presided noted that the bad or good performance of financial institutions had a direct image of the country's economy and therefore called for fair and just banking operations.