Kintampo (B/A) Nov 16 GNA - Kintampo Rural Bank in the Brong Ahafo Region last year spent more than 65 million cedis in providing social services in the district.

The bank donated school uniforms, bags and stationery worth 4.6 million cedis to 24 pupils in primary schools, spent 25.5 million cedis on repairing the Kintampo-Tamale-Apesika station road.

Mr Kwaku Poku, chairman of the board of directors announced these at the 18th annual general meeting of shareholders of the Bank. He said the financial institution also gave scholarships of 16.5 million cedis to 12 pupils and students in basic and secondary schools in the district.

Mr Poku also said the bank provided dustbins worth 4.6 million cedis to the District Assembly and laboratory equipment valued at 14 million cedis to the Kintampo District Hospital.

The Board Chairman said the bank in the year under review recorded a pre-tax profit of 832.5 million cedis as compared with the 998.3 million cedis in 2001.

Mr Poku said: "this feat was achieved despite the sharp reduction of the treasury bills rate which affected out investment income and also the increase in interest expense payable to our depositors".

Mr Poku commended the management of the bank for its prudent policies that resulted in the bank's remarkable performance, as evidence in the significant increase in business and profit.

He said the 'Mmaa Nkosoo' scheme introduced by the bank in October 2001 to provide micro-credit to the poor but enterprising women in the district had been a success story.

The Board Chairman said by the end of December 2002, the bank had registered 2110 clients and disbursed 1.4 billion cedis as loans to some of them.

Mr Poku said consequently, the bank had been selected as one of the four banks in the country considered as Centre of Excellence by Care International.

In a speech read for him, Mr E.K. Kwapong, Managing Director of ARB Apex Bank Limited, expressed appreciation for the good management policies, which according to him had enable the Kintampo Rural bank to grow from "strength to strength".

He said the Apex Bank was currently providing special services to enhance the operations of rural banks.

Mr Kwapong said the Apex Bank was arranging cash supply to the rural and community banks through the Bank of Ghana currency centres and four bullion vans have been purchased for the delivery of cash to the rural banks by next month.

Mr Kwapong added that three more vans would be ordered to increase the fleet, saying the bank was also facilitating the purchase of cocoa through the use of Akuafo cheques by arranging with the Produce Buying Company to channel funds to the rural and community banks through the Apex Bank.

Mr Kwapong said to enable the Apex bank to expand services to the rural banks, five branches of the parent bank would be established throughout the country by the end of 2005.

Three branches will be cited in Takoradi, Kumasi and Bolgatanga next year and two more the following year in Sunyani and Accra. He said the Apex Bank was currently providing certain services to enhance the operations of rural banks.

The Managing Director of Apex Bank said the Bank would help staff to acquire the requisite skills for effective service delivery. He said the Apex Bank would train workers on micro-finance methodologies to enable rural banks to support the operations of small-scale customers.

Mr Boyd Donkor, deputy chief manager of Banking Supervision of Bank of Ghana, commended the board, management, staff and shareholders of the bank for the remarkable success but appealed to the Kintampo Rural Bank to lower its lending rates so that more customers could patronize it.

Nana Kwadwo Seinti, Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, advised the bank not to concentrate on investing in treasury bills alone but to invest in other economic ventures.