... to disburse 83 million dividend.

Nandom, Nov. 29, GNA - A dividend of 83.8 million cedis meant for payment to a number of shareholders of the Nandom Rural Bank in the Upper West Region still remain unclaimed for sometime now due partly to unreliable addresses by some of the shareholders.

In addition to this, some of the shareholders are believed to be dead without next of kin to collect the dividends.

This was announced at the 21st annual general meeting of the bank held at Nandom on Saturday by Mr Jacob B. Yirerong, chairman of the bank's board of directors.

An investigation by the Ghana News Agency however, revealed that, apart from the issue of unreliable addresses, some of them do not have accounts with the bank.

In addition, instead of crediting the accounts of its shareholders, dividend payment is made by the physical appearance by the shareholder.

Mr Yirerong, who presented the report on the operations of the bank for the previous year, December 31, 2002, announced that the bank posted a gross profit of 377,668 million cedis.

He said a profit after tax of 346,468 million cedis show an increase of 39,585 million cedis more than the previous year's profit.

He proposed a total dividend of 42 million cedis to be paid among shareholders.

Mr Yirerong said the bank's total assets grew from 3.2 billion cedis in 2001 to 5.5 billion cedis in 2002 an increase of about 73 per cent.

As at the end of the year 2002, investments in treasury bills stood at three billion cedis as against 1.9 billion cedis in 2001.

The board chairman announced that the bank's revenue mobilisation agency office at Fielmua is ready for inspection and approval by the Bank of Ghana.

Mr Sylvanus Ganfaa, Lawra District Chief Executive and an out-going board member of the bank, advised the bank's customers to make it their policy to repay loans granted them to sustain the bank and to enable loan applicants to be serviced.

In a speech read on his behalf, Mr Emmanuel Kwapong, Managing Director of Arb Apex Bank Limited, said since the launch of the domestic funds transfer five months under the Apex Link product, "we have seen tremendous patronage throughout the country."