The Kintampo Rural Bank Limited has achieved sustained growth with a net profit of GHC 1.25 million in the 2015 fiscal year, Dr Samuel Donyina-Ameyaw, Chairman of the Board of Directors has announced.

Dr Donyina-Ameyaw announced this at the Bank’s 31st annual general meeting at Kintampo in the Brong-Ahafo Region, saying that the amount was a 23.76 per cent increase of GHC1.01 million profits made by the Bank in the 2014 financial year.

He said its total deposits grew from GHC 11.64 million to GHC 14.23 million, registering a growth of 22.25 percent over the previous year, but the gross advances decreased from GHC 8.30 million in 2014 to GHC 8.11 million in 2015, marking a reduction of 2.29 per cent, the Chairman added.

Dr Donyina-Ameyaw explained that the collapse of the quasi-financial institutions in the Bank’s catchment area had resulted in the collapse of businesses of some customers of the Bank, which had adversely affected demand for loans.

He said the Bank was making frantic efforts to revamp such businesses through flexible terms, extension and rescheduling of advances. Dr Donyina-Ameyaw said the Bank paid GHC 118, 561.00 as corporate tax to the government in the year under review but it incurred a cost of GHC 31, 503.00 on diesel to run its standby generator as a result of the challenges in the national energy supply sector.

He said the Bank’s capital and reserves had improved from GHC 2.65 million to GHC 3.60 million due to ploughing back of profits in the year. The Board Chair said the Bank had attained healthy balanced growth across all parameters because of an enduring commitment to business excellence and its resultant improved quality customer services delivery models.

Dr Donyina-Ameyaw said the Bank’s corporate social responsibility conformed to the guidelines of the rural banking system as it focused on major areas like education, health care, sustainable livelihood and infrastructural development.

He cited the Bank provided financial assistance to brilliant but needy students and some deprived schools in its operational area and also an overhead water reservoir to the Kintampo Municipal Hospital.

Mr Kwadwo Aye Kusi, the Managing Director of the ARB Apex Bank, in an address read on his behalf, commended the KRBL for its classification among ‘strong’ rural banks in the country, based on the 2016 first quarter report of the Efficiency Monitoring Unit of the Apex Bank. Mr Kusi said: “The Bank’s performance indicators are very high,” but there is the need to improve on customer services to attract new ones.

Mr Robert Amo-Cobbia, the Executive Director of the Association Rural Banks urged rural banks to exploit the use of mobile telecommunication technology to the fullest “to rope in the unbanked in the rural areas”.

He emphasised the need for the KRBL to link up with a telecommunication company to create a system whereby deposits and withdrawals could be done without travelling to the bank by customers.

Mr Amo-Cobbia said that would eliminate the inconvenience customers, especially those in the remote areas went through and would also reduce operational cost as wages and allowances to mobile bankers would be reduced drastically, if not avoided completely.