Takoradi, Nov. 8, GNA - The Ghana Commercial Bank (GCB) has evolved a programme to establish satellite stations initially in Takoradi and Kumasi to provide direct financial support to customers in the Small Scale and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) sector.

Mr. Lawrence Newton Adu-Mante, the GCB Managing Director, said the stations would enhance processes and procedures to meet customers' demands within a highly competitive turn-around time.

He made this known when opening a day's business clinic for SME customers in the Western Region at Takoradi on Wednesday.

The bank, Mr. Adu-Mante, said is repositioning itself to support businesses as well as individuals in a "focused and planned manner" to facilitate accelerated economic growth of the country.

In line with this the bank has so far provided credits totalling 151.5 billion cedis to small and medium sized business in agriculture, manufacturing, commerce and the services sector this year and this is expected to increase to 220 billion cedis by next year.

Mr. Adu-Mante said the bank had introduced the GCB Inland Money Xpress, the latest of a wide range of products that would afford customers risk-free money transfer across the country.

"Currently our premium is to nurture small and medium scale enterprises and grow them into big corporate bodies"; he said and added that the bank's SME division has the capacity and all that it takes to achieve this objective.

"We are conscious of today's business constraints and challenges and we are ready to play our role to reduce the stresses through well-tailored products and services".

Mr. Emmanuel K. A. Ntreh, the Takoradi zone Area Manager of the bank, said the clinic, which is the third in the series to be organised for GCB customers throughout the country, would also help to deepen bank-customer relations.