The La Community Bank Limited is to introduce mobile banking services with a dedicated App and USSD Code to bring digital and electronic banking to the doorsteps of customers.

This would enable customers to access a large number of basic banking services without visiting the bank, thereby giving them control over their bank accounts.

Dr Nii Kwaku Sowa, the Board Chairman, disclosed this at the Bank’s 32nd Annual General Meeting in Accra on Saturday.

It incurred a loss of GHC1,789,994 in 2019 as against a profit of GHC1,665,205 in 2018, while net interest income fell from GHC7.17 million in 2018 to GHC6.16 million in 2019.

Dr Sowa said the year 2019 was a very eventful year for the banking industry adding that it saw the final resolution of the banking reforms initiated by the Bank of Ghana, which directed all banks to increase their minimum capital.

He said this was followed by the clean-up of the banking sector, with the withdrawal of licenses on many financial institutions, including two universal banks in August 2017 and nine in August 2018, as well as numerous microfinance, savings and loans, and 53 fund management companies in 2019, resulting in severe consequences for the banking and finance industry.

Dr Sowa said the bank was affected by the uncertainties in the industry and the associated loss of confidence caused by the locked-up funds in some of the major fund management companies, who were unable to meet their payment obligations.

He said the bank, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility, had launched a scholarship scheme for students and had so far supported 184 of them through bursaries.

At the moment there were 28 continuing students who were benefitting from the scheme since its inception in 2002.

Dr Sowa said in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and with the view to reposition the bank, the Board had decided to restructure some of its major operations to improve business performance while eliminating bottlenecks impeding growth.