Agona Swedru, Feb 28, GNA - The Ghana Commercial Bank has launched a new product to assist salaried workers and other customers to own cars and pay their children's school fees.

Mrs Joyce Atta-Krah, Central Regional Area Manager of the Bank, announced this when the Agona District Chief Executive (DCE), Mr Ben Mensah, interacted with officials of the bank as part of his familiarisation tour of some financial institutions, departments and agencies at Swedru.

The DCE who was accompanied by Mr Eric Bediako Oppong, District Co-ordinating Director, Mr Francis Odei, District Budget officer, Mr Leo Mensah, Principal Personnel Officer and the MP for Agona West, Mr Samuel Obodia also visited the Ghana Cocoa Board and the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).

Mrs Atta-Krah stated that salaried workers could access the facility within a few weeks an urged the people to patronise the product since it was the shortest way to lessen the burden on parents. She denied that the bank had stopped giving loans to workers and other customers, adding that recovery of such facilities had became tedious hence the introduction of the new product. The bank had made arrangement to reconstruct and expand the banking hall to avoid congestion.

Mr Isaac Ocran, Swedru Manager of the Bank, appealed to the government, District, Municipal and Metropolitan Assemblies to consider channelling money through Commercial Bank instead of foreign banks. He said the bank would soon install an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) to enable the customers to transact with the bank anytime of the day.

Mr Ocran stated that a survey conducted in the area indicated that market women who travel to Techiman, Burkina Faso and other places complained about highway robbery and lose of money, saying that the ATM would avert these.

The Manager said the bank would open a mobilisation centre at the Swedru Central market to enable the market women to gain easy access to credit to expand their businesses since Swedru had the potential to be a business centre.

He called on market women and individuals to form cooperatives to enable them to get credit facilities. Mr Mensah called on banking institutions to assist the people to expand their businesses.

He charged the banks to let public know of its numerous products to enable them to benefit and urged the management to try and ease congestion at the banking hall. 28 Feb 06